Lightwaves
by HosekiDragon
Summary: AU co-written w/ Digitaldreamer. The year is 20XX. Paranormals live in oppression, the government controls the mind of the people. Eli is an Ahimsa agent who's become dissatisfied with his existence when a certain red head comes crashing into his life...
1. Chapter 1

_Welcome to the first chapter of Lightwaves! Co-written by Digitaldreamer (aka Digi-Writes-Fanfics) and myself (EmptyHeart aka HosekiDragon) this is a dystopian Alternate Universe based on the webcomic _Hanna is Not a Boy's Name_ by Tessa Stone. It was originally posted on deviantArt and it (along with some flippen' sweet artwork) can be found at www . hinabn – lightwaves . deviantart . com, just remove the spaces._

_What's this? You require further knowledge? Well then, here you go. _

_The year is 20XX. After a variety of terrible plagues and wars, mankind has finally united into several city-states. One of these is the City of Varuna. Sprawling thousands of miles and surrounded by unmovable walls, the City of Varuna lives in isolation from the outside world, tught only what the government wants them to hear. People are under constant surveillance under the name of protection. Technology has advanced beyond our wildest dreams. The only issue now is Undersirables. Paranormal creatures, vampires and werewolves, remnants of an ancient and dying world. There creatures are expected ro register with the government and are seen as second class citizens, living in oppression so as to avoid tainting the other citizens and ruining their quality of life. There creatures are hunted down by a special section of the police force, the Ahimsa._

_And then comes in Eli. For ten years, he's worked for the Ahimsa and he's begun to realize that every day has become the copy of a copy of a copy. The more dissatisfied with life he becomes, the more he begins to question, is there something more?_

_Welcome to Project Lightwaves._

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE**

He was pretty sure it was Tuesday.

He supposed it would be accurate. The holoscreen on his desk said so, and his boss was wearing his cornflower blue tie, so he was pretty sure it must be Tuesday. Then again, he wasn't sure when the last time he slept was, and insomnia tended to make everything into a gray sort of haze after awhile.

"Eli? Are you in there?"

Light hazel eyes flicked from the pile of papers on his desk to the coworker he was supposed to be speaking to. The man in question, Renton, was rather portly, not exactly overweight but not thin. Some was muscle, some was fat, but it all bulged either way under the white collared shirt of a man who believed he was five pounds lighter than he actually was. He also had a tendency to be direct in an indirect sort of manner, which meant he sounded rather friendly and had the ability to make his words all too easy to tune out when they tended to be of the utmost importance.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I zoned out," he muttered, flashing a small smile. The chalk-like taste of strong coffee was still clinging stubbornly to his tongue, and he found himself absently wondering if it was just as attached to his breath.

The other man chuckled and patted him roughly on the shoulder. "Rough night, eh Tiger? You know, it's technically illegal to bring anyone in after curfew, no matter _how_ hot she is," he drawled, his raised eyebrow giving an appropriately doggish air to his wide grin.

Who actually used 'tiger' as a serious term for _anyone_ anymore? He decided to not question, however, and simply shrugged. "No, nothing like that. I have trouble sleeping sometimes, that's all," He said as he adjusted the pile of papers. Aside from these, a mound of case files, and the standard gleaming holoscreen, his desk was relatively bare. The only sense of personalization came from the photo he had placed on his desk, one of his cousin who lived in sector 3C of the center circle.

It was good to keep photos of family. People wouldn't think you were too weird if you had photos of other people, normal people. It meant you were a part of something, were well adjusted, were safe. He'd considered one of those miniature bonsai trees, but Joe had bought one weeks ago and no one had seen him for a while.

His coworker rolled his eyes. "Of course. that'd be your problem. Can't have an agent of Ahimsa doing anything off book, now can we, Eli?" Again came the heavy pat, and he had to wonder if this was intentional or not. He knows his name isn't Eli, everyone knows his name isn't Eli, yet they all called him Eli. He supposed he shouldn't question it, it makes about as much sense as the name of their branch of the police force. He'd looked up that name, Ahimsa, once on one of his many sleepness nights. He now knew it meant "peace to all living things", which was irony if he'd ever heard it.

If anyone could mistake what they did for "peace", he'd be worried.

He realized his mind was wandering again and he blinked and jerked slightly, trying to focus on what Renton was saying. His coworkers were the closest thing he had to friends, and he had to appear interested. This was a rule of thumb when it came to dealing with city people, you shared small talk and feigned interest, paid lip service to words like "buddy". But no one was your friend in that city, not really. You had to keep people close but not too close for fear that if you said the wrong thing, someone would sell you out.

Not that he would say the wrong thing, because he wouldn't. He was well aware he owed the government, they were the ones who kept the City of Varuna safe from Undesirables. They were the ones who made all those scientific advancements and pushed mankind into an age of prosperity. They were in an age of prosperity and peace, protected by thick walls that kept all the monsters locked in the slums and trapped under the bed where they belonged.

They were in an age of peace and lately all he could do was lay wide awake at night, feeling as if something was wrong.

He realized he was fading out again and he shook his head slightly, trying to get focus again through light hazel eyes lined with dark bags. He wasn't entirely sure why he was bothering. He was well aware he was weird enough that most people didn't really want to talk to him, but not weird enough to draw attention to himself. He supposed it came down to that rule of thumb, keep up appearances.

The fake conversation was interrupted by laughter from a few desks down. The dark-haired man almost let out a sigh of relief as Renton glanced away, that doggish grin flashing into place. "What is it, Nick?"

Nick, a man who was just as heavy set as Renton but with considerably scruffier blond hair, let out another laugh as he pointed to the holoscreen on his desk. "Man, you've gotta check this out. We found some graffiti in Sector 34D last night, probably a Undesirable-friendly hippie or something whining for justice."

Renton immediately rushed over to the desk, sending bits of paper scattering from multiple desks in his wake. No one scolded him, as they were all too busy crowding around the holoscreens themselves, a sea of white shirts and black ties, their gun holsters all melding together in a line around their different sized torsos.

He watched them congregate for a moment, eyes flicking to the now empty rows of desks, the telescreens on the walls that showed everything from wanted posters to the reports to the news to speeches. In the back he could see the clear glass walls that separated the main floor from the offices of the higher ups, the Ahimsa logo glittering in the morning sunlight that shown from the open windows. The blinds to the main offices were closed, as always. He had to wonder what exactly went on in there, then decided there was little point in wondering and glanced back to the desks.

They were all identical to his, shining black tops with multiple fancy drawers and a holoscreen built in, a keyboard and a thin pad of numbers serving as controls for the screen. His eyes fell upon an open folder, then drifted to the papers that littered the floor. Why did they have so much paperwork? Couldn't this all be done on holoscreens now, and weren't trees scarce? That was why they had the ration on the synthetic ones, right? It didn't make any sense.

"Eli, come check this out!"

He let out a sigh as he made his way over, stepping carefully over the papers, boots brushing against the rough, plain gray carpet. He was tall enough that he didn't really need to squeeze past anyone, he simply towered over everyone's shoulders and squinted at the image on the screen.

Clear and crisp before him was the image of bright red words that had been spray painted across a billboard of Prime Minister Freeman. The bright red letters were cast carelessly over the Prime Minister's tanned face and perfect grin, blotting out his normally dark eyes with large, harsh words.

_Our City is Dead._

The dark-haired man blinked at the image, brow furrowing in confusion. "Strange..."

"Not really," Nick snorted as he leaned back in his office chair. "Like I said, it's probably another stupidly overdramatic stunt by those damn hippies."

"No kidding," Renton snickered. "Next they'll be preaching more gayass shit about 'tolerance' and start whining about how much they miss having real flowers!"

The whole room laughed at that, the cacophony of cackles and "haws" echoing through the whole office. The dark-haired man was the only one left there squinting at the picture of the graffiti, hating the way he felt something twist. He knew very well that this made no sense. After all, there had been many reports that had pointed out that real flowers were dangerous to one's health, it was a known fact that one couldn't tolerate creatures that spent their days killing regular citizens and of course the city was teeming with life.

In spite of all this, he just didn't see what was funny.

It was when the laughter had died down that the dark-haired man realized everyone had been filtering away to their desks for awhile now and he was the only one standing there watching the screen, unhindered by Nick waving a hand in his face.

"Eli? You okay?" The blond asked, raising a brow.

Renton let out a snort as he elbowed the dark-haired man lightly in the side. "Aw, you know Eli. He's always a bit zoned out."

Nick shook his head, brow furrowing. "Nah, he seems more tired than usual. Have you been sleeping, man?"

He had to resist letting out another sigh. He really had to make sure he found a way to sleep tonight, he was drawing more questions and that was never good. "It's been a bit rough lately, yeah."

The blond let out a sigh as he put his hands behind his head. "I hear ya, man. Rough times lately. That case you were on last week with the troll was pretty brutal too, from what I remember. Fantastic job on that, by the way!" He added with a grin. After another moment of silence, his grin dropped and he let out a sigh. "You know what you need, man? You need a break."

He shook his head. "I can't, I was just given a new case. Something about a group of kids, they think the kids might be trying to get into magic." His brow furrowed and he looked to the floor. He didn't understand why they kept giving him cases with kids. He supposed it was because he was supposedly decent at talking with them and was generally able to fix things without causing a fuss, but he still hated it.

Nick and Renton stared at him for a moment, both frowning. Then Nick snapped his fingers. "Hey man, I've got an idea! One second!" With those words he turned and began to dig through his files, his pink tongue poking out of his mouth as he shuffled past tan file after tan file. After a moment he seemed to find what he was looking for, as he grinned again and spun around with a file in hand. "Aha! Here we go. One easy case for Eli, comin' up!"

The dark-haired man blinked as the case was pressed into his hands, raising an eyebrow at the name. "Achenleck?" He read aloud, the name sounding foreign and strange on his tongue. He hoped he was pronouncing it right.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, some yuppie artfag called us last night. He was whining about a vampire in his condo or whatever. It's probably not even the real thing, he's probably just trying to make a statement or whatever."

He must have looked very confused, since Renton chuckled and leaned on the desk. "It's a break, man. You do the paperwork, visit the guy, and then once you're done you just coast for a few days with this pointless case. It's great."

Light hazel eyes glanced from his two coworkers to the case file in his hands. Then the dark-haired man nodded. "Alright, thanks. I guess I'll see you guys around." With those words he turned and made his way toward his desk, flipping through the file as he did so.

Achenleck, huh? Well, what was the worst that could happen?

* * *

The building that Mr. Achenleck lived in was typical enough for Sector 4B. That was where they put all the artsy yuppie types, shoved into condos with floor to ceiling windows, modern furniture that was generic enough while still being considered vaguely original, and no ventilation to speak of. This particular condo was a tall, sloping pillar of white and black. It was appropriately angular, as if the building itself were trying to be modern art.

He glanced up at the building in question with a raised eyebrow, then looked around the neighborhood. He absently noted the standard alloted number of synthetic trees, the usual metal, plain benches that lined the sidewalks, the glowing walkways that threaded between buildings, the fountains, the usual holoscreens. It looked fairly ordinary, but he supposed that was part of the job. After all, Undesirables were fairly good ay making things appear ordinary.

Light hazel eyes flicked back to the man he was supposed to be talking to. "Can you tell me again what the creature looked like, Mr. Achenleck?" He asked, raising a brow as he absently tapped his stylus against the glowing, semi-transparent clipboard in his hands. He really hated running through these questions, he honestly felt like he must have repeated himself twelve times now, but it was procedure.

"I told you, it's a fucking _vampire_!" Conrad Achenleck retorted hotly, fists clenched, "It flew in and I can't get it out! What don't you understand about that!" The man appeared fairly frantic; there were numerous cuts and bruises across his face and arms and his shirt was torn and hanging off of one shoulder. A little blood was leaking out the corner of his mouth.

"It was this big, okay?" Conrad held his hands apart to demonstrate, "Kinda furry, fangs. It fucking _attacked me_! Where the hell were you! I called in, like, yesterday! I slept in fucking _hotel_!"

He let out a sigh as he scribbled down the description on the clipboard. From the young man's word, it honestly sounded more like he'd been attacked by an angry kitten, but he wasn't the type to say such things aloud. He certainly _hoped_ it wasn't just an angry kitten, that would make all the work he'd spent the day doing seem all the more pointless. "My apologies, Mr. Achenleck, we've been very busy," He said.

Well, it wasn't a lie. They _were_ busy. With paperwork.

"Gah, I don't care!" Behind the glowing edges of his glasses, Conrad's eye twitched angrily, "That thing tried to fucking _eat me alive_ and I want it the hell out of my condo!" He paused momentarily, eyeing the officer with a raised eyebrow, "Are you even from Ahisma? I don't want to waste my time with some damn traffic cop...!"

One eyebrow arched at this comment. Wordlessly he hit on a button on the clipboard, sending the holographic screen vanishing into the single metal strip that made up the top of the tool. He then tucked the clipboard into his long, black trenchcoat, flashing the inside for Conrad as he did so.

Tucked inside was a glowing blue badge. The most prominent feature was the symbol for the Council of Mitra, one of the two branches of government and the one in charge of the justice system and most other things. The single horizontal streak set below a gleaming blue diamond would have been recognizable to anyone instantly, as it glowed constantly from every holoscreen in the city of Varuna. Below this shown the government name, followed by the Ahisma logo and then his sector, rank and the latest fake name they'd slapped him with.

Once he was sure the artist had gotten a good look, he spoke again, his low voice rumbling softly. "I'll need to see the inside of your condo, Mr. Achenleck."

Conrad ground his teeth together for a second and then spun on his heel, stomping through the front doors, across the polished, metallic floor, and slammed a finger into the call button for the elevator. He grumbled under his breath the whole time, eyes narrowed.

When the doors slid open with light hiss, Conrad waved the man inside and followed him. The doors closed again and there was the barest sensation of rising. The white walls dropped away and the entire city was spread out before them through the clear glass of the elevator.

The center ring of Varuna at night was truly a sight to behold. The glittering lines of light that marked the streets, the gleam of the headlights of cars as they flew along them, the glow of the foot pathways that spread between shining skyscrapers, the flicker of the various telescreens. It was truly a sight of beauty against the sky, a kaleidoscopic criss-crossing of gridlike patterns that stood in stark contrast to the dark of night. The whole city seemed to pulsate with a strange sort of rhythm in these lights, as if it were alive and the glittering lines were a heartbeat.

The graffiti from earlier had been wrong. The city wasn't dead. In fact, it seemed more alive than the people that inhabited it.

The dark-haired man shook his head, clearing it of these thoughts. Now was not the time for musing, he had a job to do.

Gleaming metal doors slid open with a standard _'ding'_ and he stepped out onto the patterned, tasteful carpet, trenchcoat swishing behind him. He glanced about for a moment, taking in the many identical, plain dark doors and glowing, unbroken lines of light from the upper corners of the hallway. They would probably be dimmed in an hour or so thanks to curfew. Light hazel eyes then glanced back to Conrad. "Which apartment is yours?" He inquired.

"Number 2236." The man muttered, gesturing down the hall as they set off, "_I'm_ not gonna set foot in there until you get that fucking thing _out_." He stopped in front of the appropriate door and he pressed his index finger against the silver pad next to the handle. This should have read the chip embedded in the tip of his finger, recognized his as the owner of the condo, and unlocked the door.

But all that happened was the light that was supposed to be glowing green faded into a dangerous red color and Conrad jumped backwards before the security system decided to shock him.

"What the hell!" He looked at his finger and then at the door, "What the hell is going on!"

"Look, if I do this for you will you _promise_ to get out of here? You could get a lot of people in trouble!" Conrad froze, staring at the door. A slightly muffled and yet somehow still loud voice was coming from inside the locked condo.

There was a soft giggle from within, a throaty sort of laugh that was somewhat hair-raising. "Of course, of course. No sense in sticking around waiting for some Ahisma dog to come knocking, right? You just finish up your work, sweetie."

The Ahisma agent blinked in confusion and surprise as he looked from the graphic designer to the door of the condo. It was then that he heard crackling static come from the small earpiece he always wore. Frowning, he reached up to press lightly at his earlobe, a soft glow coming from the machinery as he tried to focus it.

_"...I'm telling you, this is a bad idea!"_ A second female voice crackled over the earpiece, nearly imperceptible over the static. _"You'll..."_

It faded out again as his eyes narrowed and he looked to Conrad. He casually reached beneath his coat, the movement so practiced it would have been nearly invisible. "I don't suppose you have a roommate?" He asked, raising a brow.

"What? No!" Conrad sputtered in reply, nervously shifting from one foot to the other. He looked like he was going to say something else but whatever it was become moot by what happend next.

Brilliant blue light, neon and crackling with energy, shot out from underneath the door, lighting up the hallway with a flash. For a split second, it bathed everything in a delicate haze of cerulean and then it was gone, leaving the colors muted and almost bland compared the light.

The Ahisma agent's eyes widened in surprise and he took a step back on reflex, jaw dropping. There were dots of light in front of his eyes from the flash and he could feel every hair on his body bristling, as if reacting to whatever it was that had caused the brilliant glow.

Meanwhile, there was a shuffling noise from behind the door. "Well, what do you know. You really know your stuff, Mr. Cross."

The reply was soft, broken, and pained, almost incoherent through the door, "Y-yeah, thanks." There was a series of hacking coughs, silence for a second, and then, "Okay, I did what you asked, now can you _please_ leave?"

"Of course." There was a dark smile in the voice, "But you understand that I don't really like to leave witnesses..." There were thudding footsteps and someone shouted incoherently. Something crashed to the floor and then there was the sound of someone slamming into a wall. It sounded like a fight had started.

_"...anna, what's going on! What happened! What did you do! Han..."_ The female voice crackled over the Ahisma agent's earpiece again, sounded panicked. The dark-haired man had to admit he felt a similar feeling, as he had absolutely not idea what was going on.

He pushed that feeling aside, his training kicking in as he focused. He may not have understood the situation entirely, but he knew something was going on here, and it was his job to stop it. The Ahisma's eyes narrowed and a fist shot out to pound on the door. "This is the Ahisma!" He called out, his voice taking on a tone of command. "Whoever is in there, come out with your hands up!"

There a loud _'crash'_, followed by the sound of someone swearing under their breath. "Cross, you brought the _Ahisma_ here!" The first female voice hissed a bit too loudly.

"N-no!" There was a yelp and more running footsteps, "I _told_ you we should have done this somewhere else!"

Conrad was staring at his door with a mixture of confusion, fear, and a twinge of anger on his face. It looked like he didn't know whether to run or to start ranting in anger.

There was a growl. "Damnit, Cross!" Then came a loud bang, followed by several more shouts, and a loud humming noise, like the starting hiss of a jet engine.

The Ahisma agent's eyes narrowed and he moved his fingers toward the scan pad. As a member of the agency, he should have been able to override any locks and get inside to stop whatever was going on. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to touch the pad.

There was a bang like a gun being fired and a blue explosion of light came smashing through the door hard enough to rip it off its hinges and slamming into the opposite wall. Conrad screamed in fear and surprise, tripping backwards in panic. Bits of polished metal fell to the carpeted floor, sparks sputtered out from the ruined scan pad, and the very air seemed to be charged with the remnants of some kind of power. The condo was definitely going to need so serious repairs.

There was a groan that was almost a laugh from somewhere down on the floor and a piece of the door was shoved aside so that it clattered against the wall,

"Haha, ow... not my best exit..."

The boy laying amongst the rubble looked no older than fourteen. Bits of rubble fell from the torn cape that hung from his belt. His clothes were tight, covered with a multitude of buckles and looked as if they'd been brightly colored at one point, though time, tears and dust had done a bit of a number on them. A set of metal bracers were clamped around his upper arms and lower legs, extending nearly to his elbows and knees and seemingly bolted in place. Lines of glowing blue pulsed along them, ending in sparks of energy coming from the redhead's gloved palms and booted feet. What was most shocking about him, however, was his face. Even with his glasses somewhat crackled and splattered with blood, they did little to obscure his electric blue eyes, and that bright shock of curly red hair would have been recognizable from anywhere.

After all, he'd seen it on more than enough wanted posters throughout the city.

The sudden appearance of the redhead left the dark-haired man in shock. He'd snatched up his gun the instant the door exploded outward, his training allowing him to jump back on reflex, but the instant he saw that bright red hair he'd nearly dropped the weapon. "You..." He gasped out.

"Me?" The boy pushed himself into a sitting position, shaking bits of metal from his messy hair, and locked eyes with the Ahisma agent. He grinned suddenly, "Oh, uh, hi there! Nice to meet you!" He thrust out a hand, still on the floor, ignoring the blood trickling down the side of his face from a cut on his forehead.

"I'm Hanna! Hanna Falk Cross!"


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

His throat was dry.

He blinked, inhaled, then coughed violently as he choked on the dust that floated in the air. Once he'd stopped coughing, the dark-haired man looked to the boy on the floor. Light hazel eyes glanced from the hand that had been offered to him to the redhead's beaming face, feeling very confused.

The boy had introduced himself as Hanna Falk Cross. This made sense. Of course he was Hanna Falk Cross, the Ahimsa agent would know that face anywhere. Those electric blue eyes had gazed at him from posters planted all throughout the office, that grin had beamed at him from nearly every telescreen. Hanna Falk Cross, the most wanted Undesirable of the time. His bounty was set unbelievably high, he was wanted for a number of atrocities, from guarding other Undesirables to smuggling to terrorism to harming innocent people and agents alike. That all made sense.

But that smile, those wide innocent eyes and that hand that spoke of friendship even though the boy on the floor knew nothing about him, that did not.

"I..." He choked out, seemingly unsure of what to say.

"What in the hell is fucking going on!" Conrad screeched and Hanna's head snapped around to look at the graphic designer. Conrad focused on him and his eyes got even wider if that was even possible, "Oh my God...that's...y-you're...you're that Undesirable! You're part of the resistance! What the _fuck_ were you doing in my apartment!"

"Oh, you know, the usual." That smile never left the red head's face as he stood up and dusted himself off. Then he paused and pressed a couple of fingers to the communicator looped around his ear, "I'm fine, Toni, really!" His voice was unbelievably cheerful for someone who had just smashed through a door and was bleeding rather badly.

The Ahimsa agent's jaw snapped shut as the redhead pressed two fingers against his ear, probably talking to the girl he'd heard over his own earpiece. Absently he felt the gun in his hands, lowered at his side and utterly useless. A part of him, his training, was screaming at him, insisting that he needed to be pointing it at Hanna, that he _needed_to get this all under control, but there was this strange sense of _something_ in the air.

The dark-haired man shook his head, his muscles tensing. He had to focus! His eyes narrowed as he opened his mouth to speak, to shout out commands.

He never got the chance. Quite suddenly a purple streak shot out of the condo and slammed into Hanna, sending him flying into the wall again with a loud _'crunch'_ and a downpour of rubble.

"Damn, they weren't kidding when they said you were light as a feather," A female voice murmured. The dust cleared to reveal a young woman with long, silken purple curls. She stepped daintily over the threshold of Conrad's condo, her bare feet padding across the dust-coated carpet, clad only in a simple black and green hoodie. Her crimson eyes flicked from Hanna to the two other occupants of the hallway, a wide, fang-filled grin revealing what she was.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the twat," She purred as she put her hands on her hips, glancing up and down at Conrad. "I'm surprised you had the gall to come back after I sent you crying to the Ahimsa."

Conrad's fists clenched, "You invaded _my_ condo and you _attacked_ me! Of course I'm gonna call Ahimsa! You're a fucking Undesirable!" The graphic designer rounded on the agent, "Aren't you going to do something! Stop standing there like a dead man and _get rid of her_!"

The dark-haired man nodded. Apparently Conrad's words were what he needed to snap into action, as he finally pulled up his gun and pointed it at Adelaide. "He's right, ma'am. You're an Undesirable and you've broken multiple laws, not to mention I highly doubt you're registered. You're under arrest," He declared, the soft hum of the charged pistol filling the room as the lines of light on the weapon's sides flared to life in an instant.

The purple-haired vampire gave a chuckle at this. "Aw, that's cute. Why is it I'm under arrest and not Mr. Cross here? He's the one who's got a bounty on his head, aren't your priorities a little off?" She asked as she cocked her head to the side and folded her arms.

Light hazel eyes blinked, then flicked from the vampire to the redhead laying amongst the rubble. A few moments of silence passed before his grip tightened on his gun. "He's under arrest too," The man muttered, voice clipped. "That is not the point. I'll need you to come with me."

"Hmmm," The vampire tapped one long, manicured finger against her chin, as if deep in thought. Then she smirked. "How about _no_!" She called out as her bare foot shot out.

Her kick took him by surprise, hitting him solidly in the jaw. Fortunately, after that he was more prepared for the fist that followed. The dark-haired man ducked under her punch, booted foot shooting out to trip her on the way down. The purple-haired woman let out a small cry of surprise as her bare feet caught his shoe, but she flipped out of the fall. As she landed she spun to face him, a smirk on her face. "You're not bad for an agent! What's your name?"

"That's classified," He said as he pointed the gun. He hated shooting, but there wasn't really any other option at the moment.

_Bang!_

One flash of bright red later, there was a hole in the wall where the vampire's leg would have been. Unfortunately, she was gone already, leaping over his head with an insane amount of agility.

Hanna managed to lever a rather hefty portion of rubble off of himself and looked up just as Adelaide landed in front of the door. Blue eyes narrowed slightly, he stood up, wiped blood from his eyes, and glared at the female vampire. The blue lines on his arm braces glowed brighter and he thrust his hands forward, firing off a streak the same cerulean energy that had erupted from underneath the door earlier.

But the attack never hit the target. Adelaide dodged and was suddenly beside Conrad, leaning in a bit too close for the graphic designer's taste. Hanna's eyes widened and he held his hands up again, more blue energy crackling across his fingers.

"Not so fast, sweetheart!" The vampire called out as a manicured hand shot out to grab Conrad by the collar, pulling him against her. "Unless you've got some fantastic aim, there's no way you won't fry the little girl here along with me."

Before Hanna could answer, there came a click, followed by a soft hum. "Well," The Ahimsa agent commented. "Unfortunately for you, _I_ have good aim."

With those words, a flash of bright red shot through the air, clipping the vampire in the shoulder. The woman let out a shriek of pain and stumbled back, clutching at the wound. She glared at the crimson bubbling up from beneath her pale fingers, then turned to snarl at the Ahimsa agent. "Well, admittedly this isn't going exactly how I planned! Fine, time for plan _B_!"

And then her foot shot up to nail Conrad between the legs.

The graphic designer let out a strangled cry of pain and doubled over, whimpering weakly. He stumbled a bit and dropped to his knees, shaking.

Hanna cringed, "Aw, come on, leave him alone! He's got nothing to do with this!" The red head took a step forward, still holding the blue energy in his hands.

"Oh, I know," The vampire laughed as she knelt down next to Conrad, pale fingers gripping at a fistful of his shirt. "Try to understand dear, it's nothing personal. I'm just starving, that's-"

She was cut off by another shot that narrowly missed her head, more of a warning shot than anything. The woman let out a curse, eyes narrowing as she looked to the Ahimsa agent, whom was already charging toward her. He didn't need to wait, he knew how vampires worked by now.

"Right, the banter's over! Come on, sweetie!" She snapped as she scooped up Conrad like a sack of potatoes, throwing him over her shoulder and narrowly dodging another shot. Her foot shot out again, catching a bit of rubble and sending it flying in the direction of her adversaries.

It wasn't much, but the few bits of crumbling drywall provided the couple of seconds the vampire needed to duck into Conrad's condo. The Ahimsa agent let out a shout as he watched the vampire leap over a couch in a blur of purple. "Stop!" He called out.

Naturally, this did little to deter the vampire. There was a loud _'crash'_ as the vampire shattered the window, and then with the tinkling of shattered glass and a laugh she was gone.

Well. Apparently the seals the government had placed on the windows "for our citizens protection" weren't as solid as they'd claimed.

"Damn it!" Hanna shouted and the energy in his hands flickered away, "This wasn't supposed to happen! No one was supposed to get hurt!"

The young red head crouched down and his eyes narrowed as he concentrated. The bracers on his legs began to spark and the strips on the glowed brighter and brighter. Tendrils of azure light spilled out from underneath his boots, flickering into the air as sparks danced upwards. The air seemed to be vibrating with some sort of intangible energy. Hanna's face was serious but there was a sparkle of excitement in his eyes.

Light hazel eyes widened as the Ahimsa agent watched this display, his jaw dropping. He knew Cross had strange abilities, but this was easily one of the weirdest ones he'd ever seen. With each spark of energy the room seemed to pulsate, every hair on his body seeming to stand on end as he watched the display.

The dark-haired man shook his head violently, snapping out of it. He didn't know what was going on, but he had to stop this. The vampire had already got away, there was no way in _hell_ he was going to deal with the repercussions of having let Hanna Falk Cross escape.

"Stop!" The man called out as a hand shot out to grab Hanna's upper arm. "I said you're under arrest!"

"No, let go!" The redhead cried but it was too late, the Ahimsa agent's fingers had clamped tightly around his arm. Blue energy erupted from underneath them and Hanna and the agent were flung forward in a blur. Hanna leaned away from the man who had his arm in death grip, trying to steer them away so as not to smash into the wall that was coming up on them way too quickly...

To no avail. They both slammed into the wall and bounced back. Hanna was flung against the opposite wall and the back of his head smacked against it. The world tipped and he dropped to the floor, dazed.

The Ahimsa agent had crashed to the floor in a heap, groaning in pain from the impact with the wall. He forced himself shakily to his knees, reaching up and clutching at his head. He took a deep breath, trying to force the room to stop spinning.

He was an agent of the Ahimsa and this was just a slightly different case from usual. He should not have been freezing up and having issues like this. He had to take the control.

Light hazel eyes narrowed as he looked to the source of the problems, the reason why a run-of-the-mill case had gone so impossibly wrong. The redhead lay there on the floor in a pile of rubble, one of Mr. Achenleck's impossibly unfortunate lamps shattered at his side. Shaking his head once more to clear it, the dark-haired man stood and made his way across the room.

Hanna may not have been what he came here for, but the dark-haired man knew better than to let him try to move again.

"Mr. Cross," There was a click as the Ahimsa agent pulled a small metal disk from his belt and pressed it against one of Hanna's wrists. "As an unregistered Undesirable and for countless crimes against the Government, you are under arrest." With a whir and a second click, a metal band shot from the disk, extending into a cuff that easily encircled Hanna's wrist, bracer and all. It adjusted to the redhead's size easily, extending into a full pair of handcuffs in seconds as the dark-haired man reached for Hanna's other wrist.

"Wh-what...?" The red head blinked several times and his bright eyes focused once again. He tried to get up but couldn't when he found his arms tight behind his back, held there by the handcuffs. Hanna struggled, "No, wait! Let me go, please! I have to stop her!"

Hanna turned those impossibly blue eyes on the dark-haired man, pleading, desperately trying to get the Ahimsa agent to let him go.

The agent blinked in confusion as electric blue met light hazel. His brain was screaming at him that this was impossibly stupid and everything Hanna Cross could possibly say was a lie, but those eyes, for some reason, had him lost. His training had his grip tightening on the handcuffs and was reminding him that of course Undesirables stuck together and anything Hanna said was just meant to protect himself and that damn vampire, but there were those eyes.

Those eyes were honest. And that was something rarely seen in Varuna these days.

He swallowed, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you go. It's against policy. You're coming with me, though." With those words he hauled Hanna to his feet and began to rush for the door. "They went to the roof, right?" He asked as he jogged down the hallway, doing his best to make sure Hanna could keep up.

Granted, this was against policy too, but he couldn't fight against those eyes.

"Yeah!" The red head responded, "And we have to hurry! That vampire lady, she might-!" He stumbled suddenly, tripping over his own feet. Glancing back, an expression of panic washed over Hanna's face for a brief moment. One of his leg bracers was broken; a crack ran along the metal and split one of the blue lines in half. Sparks shot out of it whenever he moved.

"Worth's going to _murder_ me..." The young man breathed. Then he looked around and saw the Ahimsa agent had paused to give him a very confused stare. He grinned sheepishly, "It's not important. Right now we have to catch that vampire!" He urged the man onward and silence fell between them as they began to ascend the stairs.

And then, "You know, I told you my name! So what's yours?" The question was bright and filled with innocence, like a person trying to make casual conversation on a street corner rather than running up the stairs after a rouge vampire.

The dark-haired man blinked in confusion, then shook his head. Was Hanna seriously trying to have a conversation with the man who was arresting him? "I can't tell you that, it's classified," He said as he used the railing to hoist the two of them up another flight, their footsteps casting shadows in the lines of light that lined the stairway.

"But I saw your badge!" Hanna said excitedly, bouncing in the man's grip, "That has your name on it, doesn't it?"

"It's fake." The Ahimsa agent shook his head as he glanced at the number next to the door. Right, only a few more flights of stairs. He was now quite thankful that Mr. Achenleck lived so close to the top of the building. "They change it on every mission we go on so we can't be traced by the public."

"So that's not your real name?" Hanna gave a light laugh, "Haha, that's cool! I didn't like that one anyway." The red head tripped up the stairs, stumbled, and righted himself. "So hey, how about I just call you something else and you can tell me when I say a name you like?" When the Ahimsa agent didn't respond, Hanna continued, "How about Zander? Zander's a cool name and you kind of look like a Zander...!"

The dark-haired man's brow furrowed, then he shook his head. "No," He declared flatly.

"Jack, then. How about Jack?"

"Hm. No," The Ahimsa agent replied, his denial echoing through the stairwell.

"Ooh, ooh, I've got a _great_ one!" Hanna exclaimed as they reached the landing, "How about..." He paused and then said in a loud, dramatic voice that bounced off the metal, "Holland!"

His companion paused at this one, something akin to confusion passing across his normally stoic face. He then shook his head as he made his way for the door marked 'Exit' with glowing, red neon letters. "No."

"You're kind of hard to please... don't worry though, I can do this all night!" Hanna exclaimed and it sounded as though he would have said more but the Ahimsa agent had already reached the door to the roof. Talking didn't seem like an appropriate thing to do.

"I was kind of afraid of that," His companion muttered as he pressed a fingertip against the doorpad, unlocking it with ease. This task done, he shoved the door open and rushed outside onto the roof.

What greeted him was a fairly standard rooftop, multiple glowing mechanisms on the top whirring off to the side and keeping the building running. There was a waist-high wall along the edges of the roof, probably to keep people from falling, and aside from this the area was relatively unremarkable.

Aside from the sight of laying out on the rooftop. His skin, a pale shade of gray, seemed to reflect the lights of the city in it's translucence, a few remaining droplets of crimson clinging to the puncture wounds in his neck and the various claw marks across his frame.

The Ahimsa agent's eyes widened and he rushed to his client's side, the wind sending his coat whipping about as he dropped to his knees. "Mr. Achenleck!" He called out, his voice nearly lost to the wind as he took the graphic designer's pulse. He knew it was largely pointless, it was clear Conrad was nearly gone, but he tried anyway.

"Is he...oh hell..." Hanna was still standing with his hands cuffed behind his back, eyes wide in the night as he stared at Conrad's body.

Captivated as he was, he failed to notice the dark shadow coming down on him from above.

_'Crack'_! The sound was harsh as the vampire quite suddenly slammed Hanna down onto the rooftop in a flurry of purple hair and fangs. There was a clatter of metal as the handcuffs broke and skidded uselessly across the ground, though the redhead's arms were still trapped under his own bodyweight and hers. "Hello again, Mr. Cross!" The vampire crowed, mouth set into a terrifying grin.

"Hi there...!" Hanna sounded far less enthusiastic than he had a few seconds ago, "Listen, didn't we agree that no one was going to get hurt in this?" He struggled a bit, trying to get his arms free, "You weren't supposed to hurt anyone! You promised you wouldn't!"

"Plans change, Mr. Cross," The vampire drawled as she pressed a hand against the redhead's shoulder, forcing him to be still. "Now why don't you tell me just what it is going on, hm? You're no regular prepubescent brat, I can smell death on you. What _are_ you, Mr. Cross?" As she spoke she moved in closer, her voice a frigid whisper in Hanna's ear.

She never got her answer, as at that moment the side of the Ahimsa agent's pistol rather suddenly cracked against the back of skull.

The vampire let out a shriek of pain as the force of the blow knocked her off of Hanna, sending her sprawling across the rooftop. Crimson pooled at the base of her head as she lay there in a daze, purple hair fanning out beneath her.

Hanna rolled to his feet, looking relieved. He turned his gaze towards the Ahimsa agent with a half-smile on his face, about to thank the man for saving him. Then his eyes widened.

"Give me your gun!" He demanded, thrusting a hand out, "Hurry! Throw me your gun!"

The Ahimsa agent blinked in confusion at Hanna's words. Light hazel eyes went from the redhead to the blood-splattered weapon in his hands and again came the war in his mind. His head screamed 'no', because of course, that was downright stupid. What made Hanna think he was honestly going to be getting an Ahimsa weapon? Did he really think he was going to get it? There was no way, that was probably one of the worst mistakes he could possibly make on accident, let alone on purpose.

But there were those eyes again and some part of him could not say no. Some part of him was saying 'trust him' and it was the same part screaming in his head at night, whispering doubts in his mind as he gazed out at the city, and he couldn't ignore that anymore.

So before he could overthink it and take it back, he threw the gun to Hanna.

The red head fumbled with it and then tightened his fingers around the barrel, holding it completely the wrong way. Then he spun around and ran across the rooftop...right past the vampire woman.

He dropped to his knees beside Conrad's body and swiped some of the blood off the end of the gun. It dripped off his fingers, hot and sticky.

"Please be enough..." Hanna whispered, "Sorry Mr. Achenleck, but this is your ticket out of death so you have to fucking take it!"

"What are you doing?" The Ahimsa agent called out as he made a step toward Hanna, eyes flicking from the still groaning vampire woman to the redhead. He faintly spotted the flash of crimson on his former captive's fingers and his eyes widened, the memory of something he'd been taught during training coming to mind.

_'In order to become a vampire, there must be an exchange of blood between sire and victim...'_

"Wait!" He cried out as he rushed to Hanna's side. "You can't-"

"I know!" Hanna cried from the shadows, pulling his hand away from Conrad, "I _know_ that but this is the only chance he has to live!" Those brilliant blue eyes flashed with something dark, the happy light in them dimming a little, "I can't just leave him here for the Council to find! You don't know what they'd _do_ to him!"

The Ahimsa agent blinked, brow furrowing as he skidded to a stop. Light hazel met brilliant blue and he just stared at the redhead for a moment. "What are you talking about?" He asked. "He's not an Undesirable..."

_WHAM!_

A fist came flying out and socked Hanna in the side of the face, making him jerk backwards at the impact. Hanna put a hand to his mouth, wiping away the blood dribbling down his chin. There was a relieved grin on his face.

"Fffuuuuucccckkkk..." Conrad Achenleck groaned, sitting up slowly, one hand to his head, "What the fuck happened...! I feel like I've been through a meat grinder _and_ a garbage compressor...oh fuck..."

"Oh thank _God_ that worked!" Hanna cried, throwing his arms around this man he barely knew and giving him a giant hug, "Oh God, I'm so sorry you got dragged into this but it's okay because you're _alive_! Well, sorta..."

"Wh-what!" Conrad shoved Hanna way, "What the fuck do you mean "not really alive"! What the hell does that mean!"

"Wwwweeeellll," Hanna grinned sheepishly, "You're a vampire now but, you know, that's alright because you're not _dead_!"

"V-v-vampire!" The graphic designer looked dazed with shock for a moment, as though he couldn't completely grasp what Hanna had just told him, "A...a..." He gathered himself up a bit and screamed, "You turned me into a fucking _Undersirable_!"

"I'm sorry! Really!" Hanna said and looking like he meant it too, "But trust me, this is _way_ better than if the Council had picked you up! Things would have been-." The red head stopped for a second and put his fingers to his ear again, listening to his companion over the speaker, "Everything's okay, Toni! Calm down, alright! But listen..."

The Ahimsa agent stood and watched this exchange in a daze, There were now two vampires, the terrorist he'd meant to capture had been hugging one of them and cheerily chatting with what was possibly another terrorist, and he'd let it all happen. His gun, the source of the whole mess, lay covered in blood and forgotten at Hanna's side. It had all happened so suddenly and he just didn't know what to make of it all. There was the memory of the redhead insisting they had to stop the other vampire, that friendly smile, the insistence that this was better and God he knew it had to be a lie, he'd been taught better than this. He knew it was wrong but he'd already gone against protocol so much tonight and why on Earth had he done that? That boy, the way he acted, the way everything had just seemed to fall apart he just felt so impossibly lost.

"... and there's this guy I kinda-sorta might have accidentally managed to kill but then brought him back to life." Hanna was still rambling, looking this way and that as he spoke. He then glanced over his shoulder at the Ahimsa agent, "And, er, there's also a..."

Blue eyes widened and Hanna's hand dropped as he lept up, shouting, "Denzel, look out!"

The dark-haired man immediately spun to try to see what Hanna was shouting about, but all he caught was a flash of purple and gleaming fangs before something hit him _hard_ in the back of the head. He let out a cry as the world spun and he swore he heard the redhead shouting yet another name for him, but he couldn't make it out as he dropped to his knees. There was still more shouting and he swore he heard laughter and saw a flash of blue fur out of the corner of his eye. His stomach twisted as his vision swam, becoming gray at the edges, then black.

This really was just not his night.


	3. Interlude  Eli

_This interlude was written completely by Digi. Here we get a little peek into the life of Eli before the Achenleck Case. Enjoy!_

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**INTERLUDE – ELI**

He supposed he'd always been a bit odd.

He wasn't sure when it had clicked for him. Perhaps, in some way, he'd always known, though he'd never consciously thought about it. There was always just something somewhat off about the way he carried things out. He always found himself wrapped up in the news on the holoscreen, not the videos, the printed out journals on the web. He loved to read, to piece it all together in his mind instead of having it spoon fed to him in sound bytes that echoed from every telescreen in Varuna. He enjoyed cooking and preferred not to sleep in, woke up like clockwork at seven in the morning every day. He enjoyed yoga and meditating and while he supposed none of this was against the law, it wasn't terribly normal.

In spite of this lack of normalcy, he supposed his life hadn't exactly been anything strange. His childhood seemed to blend together like everything else in his life, though a letter from his cousin had assured him that he wasn't missing any great event. She'd said he was normal and a good man, and he supposed this was true. He'd always been a good boy, he came home before curfew and he got good grades, graduated with no trouble. The only thing that really stood out was the fact that his parents had been killed in a car crash when he was young, and really, it wasn't like there was anything terribly stand-outish about being an orphan in this day and age. After all, the Undesirables were always out for blood. He was just trying to keep the number of orphans down, that's all.

So while he was different, he was also the same as everyone else. And really, he thinks that's where the problem started.

He wasn't sure when he'd noticed. It was just another night like any other and he'd been laying in bed at his apartment, listening to the sounds of the city as it all whirred below him in a constant state of flickering lights and life. He'd been laying there, staring up at the blank white ceiling, and quite suddenly he'd realized he had no idea how old he was. He supposed it was somewhere in his late twenties, but the years had all begun to blend together. Birthday party after birthday party at the office, the only separation being the number on the cake and the fact that everyone else got a little fatter as time drained it all away.

It was all blending together and for an instant he felt a stab of panic and couldn't understand why. He'd laid there and his eyes had widened, chest tightening, and for an instant he'd felt as if the blank walls were closing in, constricting and tightening like a prison as opposed to his home.

That had been bad enough, but the worst part of it was that it kept happening. Now that the thought had occurred, he couldn't seem to stop.

Every day was the same. It was all a copy of a copy of a copy. His coworkers may have different shades hair in a buzzcut or one of four bodytypes but their uniforms and voices all blended together all the same. The buildings were all varying shapes and sizes, but when you really looked at them you realized they were all from the same couple of molds and there were only a few shades and types of metal to choose from. Even the flickering lights followed the same patterns and grids, never changing. The people on the streets all had the same expressions, from blank stares to wide smiles that felt all too fake. It was all the same, every day, every trip to work and forced small talk and ridiculous case.

He tried not to think about it. He'd tried to get rid of the thoughts and he wished they would stop, but they wouldn't. Everywhere he looked there seemed to be a reminder, a flash of yet another carbon copy. He'd mentioned it to his coworkers here and there, had visited the doctor about the insomnia, and in the end the answer was always the same:

Just ignore it. It's just a phase, friend, you've just spent too long listening to those Undesirable-friendly hippies. Just relax, remember who you are. Drink your rationed alcohol, smoke a cigarette, go get yourself some nice girl. An Ahimsa agent can get whoever he wants, you know? Get yourself a girl, drink and smoke, see a movie, plop down in front of the telescreen, drown yourself in culture until it doesn't matter anymore.

This didn't work. He drank, he went to bars, he tried meeting people, but in the end it was all the same. The same flirtatious glances and smirks, questions about work, standard exchanges, same red hair or blond ribbons that fell just so over bared shoulders. It was all the same and he didn't have it in him to return something that wasn't real. It was all the same and he'd go to the same damn bar with different names every night, he would come to his empty apartment alone before curfew every night and still he could not sleep.

So he tried throwing himself into his work, taking case after case and seeing if that would help. He took case after case and saved life after life, and still that didn't help. Even that was the same, same old rants about vampires who lurked in the shadows at clubs and leered at women who dressed as if they were secretly seeking the dangerous attention, same stories of mermaids hiding in sewers and werewolves gathering in parks. Sometimes it wasn't even true, it was just teenagers being silly, and other times it was a real problem and again he'd be fighting for his life and dragging some helpless creature away that supposedly deserved it and even that all seemed too similar.

Perhaps the issue lay in the fact that he was so different. Generally the Ahimsa barged in without a word, made silent arrests late into the night and shot without asking questions. They did general arrests too, but it was an unspoken fact that they were known for harsher tactics, but not him. He did his best to give Undesirables the chance to surrender peacefully, he never shot unless he had to, always knocked first, and naturally he supposed this only added to his odd reputation. He'd become somewhat infamous after one particular case wherein they'd caught a vampire holding a woman hostage. There'd been a general panic that there was no way to win this without anyone dying, but he'd managed to do what others failed.

He had talked.

He talked, figured out what was going on, used reason as opposed to bullets, and in the end they'd managed to sort it all out. The vampire had come quietly, the woman had lived, and in the end he'd been regarded with stares and grins. "Eli the hero" was what they called him, and he wasn't sure whether this was a statement of honor or bitter sarcasm. You could never be entirely sure in the Ahimsa. But still, the title had stuck, as had his reputation, and in the end he ended up with dozens of cases and word of a promotion that he was well aware would never actually happen.

He was far too different to be promoted.

But still, the cases came, and that's how he found himself standing in sector D4, feeling something within him twist as he watched a group of teenagers spray runes across government-funded screens. Considering his reputation, he often found himself in these situations, playing the diplomat where others wouldn't. He supposed he would prefer he be doing the job as opposed to any other agent, but it didn't make the job any more enjoyable. Something today seemed different, however.

So he'd walked up to the teenagers and he'd tried talking to them. His words were gentle and were met with the standard hostility of teenagers, but then had come the question they hadn't expected.

"Why are you doing this?"

He wasn't sure what had prompted him to ask it. It wasn't a part of his job to ask questions, to reason. It wasn't a part of his training, it wasn't a part of the things he'd learned in school or at the academy or from the words that rang from the telescreens. The question came from somewhere else, from that part of his mind that whirred endlessly as he tried to sleep, the part that saw everything that seemed so impossibly wrong and could not seem to rest. It came from that part of him and it felt so strange to have the words leave his mouth, and he wasn't sure if he was asking the teenagers or asking something else entirely.

And of course the kid had just stared at him oddly, and for an instant he felt rather stupid for asking. Who was he to be asking these kids anything? It wasn't a part of his job, as far as the kids were concerned he was just another stupid adult. However, just as he was starting to curse himself for asking, the answer had come, surprisingly blunt and honest.

"I don't want to be the walking dead like you people."

He'd sat in silence for a moment, simply taking the words in. Then he'd nodded, because the part of him that kept him awake, the part of him that saw it all and couldn't take it, the part of him that had asked the question, that part could understand.

"I..." He trailed off, unsure of the words he needed. His throat was dry, tight, as if something were obstructing it. All he knew was at that moment he had to step away. "I'm going to go file a report."

It went unspoken that he expected the place to be empty when he got back.

So he'd turned and went back to his car, collapsing bonelessly in the seat. He then just sat there, mahogany eyes gazing up at the skyscrapers as the same city sounds whirred around him. Same screaming sirens, same rhythm of walking feet and speeding cars, same flashing lights. It was the same as always, but strangely enough, in that moment he almost felt at peace. Not because the problem was gone, because of course he would not sleep tonight and of course it would all be the same as always.

But he had words to go with the problem, though it still was so very hard to wrap his brain around it all.

When he'd returned with the report, the area had been as empty as he'd hoped it would be. The graffiti remained though, and he was starting to get used to the strange fact that he didn't really mind The words across the wall resonated in his mind, strange and alien and frustratingly true.

_"Our city is dead."_


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

"God-fucking-_damnit_ Hanna!"

The first thing the Ahimsa agent was aware of was that voice. Loud, heavily accented, and harsh, it seemed to be echoing through his very skull, multiplying the pounding in his head tenfold. Then came the crash and the sound of a multitude of objects falling to the floor, followed by another snarl.

"What'd I tell you about those bracers!"

"Er...n-nothing?" came a sheepish reply and then there was a yelp or surprise, "Ow! Hey, I didn't do it on _purpose_...!"

"Like _hell_ ya didn't!" the first voice snarled, followed by another bang. "Jesus fucking _Christ_ Hanna, I don't know how many times I've told you, do _not_ fuck up the bracers!"

Mahogany eyes slowly cracked open, taking in the sight of a stained, crumbling ceiling. The dark-haired man blinked once, then shifted slightly. He was laying on something hard and cold, though with his head throbbing the way it was he felt grateful for what felt like the most thin pillow to ever exist. A subtle tug of his wrists brought his attention to his bound wrists, held together with what ironically seemed to be his own handcuffs.

He quickly surmised with a glance that this had to be the most disgusting room to ever exist. The walls appeared to be made of crumbling gray bricks and spiderwebs glittered from every corner. A variety of large, dented and rusting metal cabinets lined the walls, some left open to reveal their unorganized contents. There was also a multitude of plain metal tables that shown under the blinding, flickering bare lightbulbs that hung from the ceiling. Most of these tables were relatively empty besides a few bits of clutter, save for one that was most likely a desk under the piles of papers, medical supplies, empty bottles and cigarette butts.

The other table was currently occupied by Hanna, whom sat perched upon the edge with his legs dangling off of it. He was currently cringing from the other occupant of the room, as if he wanted nothing more than to sink into the table's gleaming surface.

The one he was cringing from appeared to be a man in his thirties or so. He sat in a beat-up office chair, rail-thin shoulders hunched as he clutched the redhead's right leg in a death grip. With his greasy blond hair and unshaven, pointed face, he really looked like he belonged out on the streets selling drugs. The most striking thing about him, however, was his coat. Grimy and grayish-white, it looked like it had been a labcoat at one point, but the multitude of buckles and line of yellowing, mangy fur had turned it into some sort of terrifying monstrosity.

"...Three seconds!" the man snapped as jerked downward on the wrench he was using on Hanna's leg brace. "How many times do I have to fuckin' tell you! You charge for _three_ seconds! Any less and the energy will discharge, anymore and you'll fuckin' crash! What, do you just have problems with counting, you little prick! Three! It comes after two, before four! _THREE_!" At these words he jerked the wrench again, causing a great, terrifying spark that temporarily lit up the shadows of the room.

"Owowowowowow!" Hanna squirmed under the man's grip again, cringing, "I know how to count and you don't have to twist it that hard, Worth!" The young red head had the most pathetic, kicked-puppy expression on his face, "It was an accident! Really! I counted to three! I did, I swear!"

"Uh huh," the blond, apparently named Worth, huffed. He set the wrench aside, then grabbed a strange instrument, a long, silvery stick. With the press of a button the stick gave off a strange light and again he began prodding at the bracer. "How d'ya explain this happening then, asshole?" He grunted out, yellowed teeth grinding down on the battered cigarette clenched between them.

"I, uh," Hanna's blue eyes flickered away from the blonde man and traveled around the room, searching for a distraction. When they settled on the Ahimsa agent, a smile spread across his face, "Oh heeeeyyyy, Marschall, you're awake! How's your head?"

"'Ah..." The dark-haired man blinked, not entirely sure how to reply to that. He was fairly sure 'Marschall' was in reference to him, though why Hanna was acting so friendly when he appeared to be a captive was mildly confusing. "Er... it... well, hurts," he finally admitted, opting to go the honest route. He gave a small grunt as he rolled to his side, then used his elbow to push himself into a seated position. The motion made his head spin, but he felt less vulnerable like this than he had felt lying down.

"Tch. It damn well better hurt, bastard," Worth grumbled as he looked to the Ahimsa agent. He then turned back to Hanna, eyes narrowing. "'Ey, eyes here!" he called out, jabbing one long, greasy finger into the redhead's side. "Don't think changin' the subject is gonna save your ass. What the _fuck_ were you thinkin', bringing him here, huh! Did you just _not_ notice he's a fucking Ahimsa agent!" He snapped, a hand coming up to smack Hanna across the back of the head.

"Ow, Wooooorrrrrttthhhh!" Hanna whined, rubbing the spot where the man had struck him, "I just couldn't _leave_ him there! I mean, he was hurt and stuff. And besides, he doesn't seem _that_ bad...!" He gave Worth his best innocent smile.

The doctor scowled as he reached out to grab the redhead's leg again. "Yeah, sure, he doesn't seem tha' bad until he fuckin' _sells us out_. Fucking government dog," he grumbled as he began to tinker once more.

"Where the fuck is he!" roared a voice from outside the room and everyone looked around at the door as it opened with a bang, "Where the _fuck_ is that shit head Hanna Cross who _ruined my fucking life_!"

Conrad Achenleck was standing the threshold, his injuries wrapped in bandages and his dark eyes blazing with fury. They swept around the room and fell upon Hanna.

"You..." the man-turned-vampire growled. He stalked across the room to grab the front of Hanna's shirt, almost dragging the young man off the table. "You! Take me home! Why the hell did you drag me to this shit hole! Take me home! You can't fucking _treat people_ like this!"

"Mr. Achenleck, please!" a young woman called out. Combat boots clicked across the dirty floor as she rushed to Conrad's side. Her black and blue ponytail and multitude of tattered skirts flowed in her wake, complimenting her smooth, graceful movements. "You shouldn't be running around like this, you're still injured!" She said as she tried to take the vampire's arm.

Worth rose an eyebrow as he looked from the woman to the fuming Conrad, quirking a brow. "Back so soon, Princess? What, am I really jus' that irresistible?" he asked, a smirk coming to his face.

"Shut the hell up! And stop calling me that!" Conrad snarled, fangs flashing past his upper lip as he rounded on the blond man. His fist was still clenched around the front of Hanna's shirt and as he spun Hanna slid completely off the table and stumbled into him. Conrad shoved him away with a growl and the red head tumbled to the floor.

"Why did you do this to me!" Conrad loomed over Hanna, fists clenched an quivering at his sides. He seemed to have eyes for no one else, "Why did you _fucking_ do this to me! Why didn't you just let me _die_! It would have been better if I was dead! Dead would have been better than this!" The vampire gestured to himself, looking desperate, "Dead would have been better than being a fucking _Undesirable_!" His voice cracked in his desperation.

"I...I..." Hanna remained on the floor, staring up at the furious vampire, "I'm sorry but I...you don't understand. If the Council had found you...I was just trying to help." He looked genuinely apologetic, "I'm sorry, Mr. Achenleck, really. But trust me, you're better off with us." A grin suddenly split his face, "Welcome to The Screw-You-Government-We're-Awesome Alliance!"

There was a beat of silence.

"...No," Worth said flatly. "That's not our name. Fuck you."

The woman gave a small laugh and shook her head, her hair swinging with the motion. "Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with Worth on that one. Sorry Hanna, better luck next time." She then looked to Conrad, eyes narrowing. "Listen, Mr. Achenleck. I know it's hard to accept, but Hanna is telling the truth. Things are better like this... so we may as well do our best to make the best of it, right?" She quirked a brow at the fledgling vampire, offering a small smile.

Before Conrad could reply, Worth gave a snort. "Dun' try reasonin' with him, Toni. He's too busy mournin' his little yuppie life, he ain't gonna listen to you," He drawled as he leaned back in his chair.

"God, will you just shut the fuck up!" Conrad snapped, "I am so sick of your voice!" He stomped closer to Worth, a fist raised, "Open your fucking mouth again, I _dare_ you!"

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Hanna was trying to scramble to his feet but his brace sputtered and sparked in protest and made him trip over himself. He leaned against the table for support, "Mr. Achenleck, wait!"

Worth quirked a eyebrow as Conrad loomed over him, a terrible grin coming to his face. "Or what? You'll bitch me t' death? Actually, ya might get pretty far with that. It'd be more effective than anythin' you could do wit' those scrawny arms of yours."

"Worth, cut it out," Toni said as she placed a hand on Conrad's shoulder. "Ignore him, Mr. Achenleck. Worth's just an ass who likes getting a rise out of people."

The doctor scowled as he looked from the vampire to Toni. "'Damn straight. Now why don't ya tell me, girlie, why the fuck the baby here is whinin' in my damn office? What part of 'Hanna is providing enough estrogen without the rest of you fuckers, get the hell out' did you not fuckin' get?"

He received an eyeroll in response. "Look, it's not my fault. He stayed still while I was patching him up, all I did was tell him to drink some blood so he'd start healing," Toni said as she put her hands on her hips.

"I'm not _touching_ that stuff! I don't need it!" Conrad snarled in response, glaring daggers at Worth.

"Actually, uh, you kind of... do," Hanna mumbled and then flinched slightly when the vampire turned his glare on the red head.

"He's right," Worth piped up. "Though t' be fair, 's not like you can starve t' death or anything. You're kinda already _dead_."

"Worth!" Toni sputtered.

"What?" The doctor shrugged, then spun his hair so his back was to the rest of the group. "'S true. Let him starve if that's what he wants. 'S his own Goddamn problem, and we have more than enough o' those right now. Jus' make sure he doesn't go stumblin' outta here or whatever."

The dark-haired girl glared in Worth's direction for a moment. Then she gave a sigh and turned to Conrad, running a hand through her hair. "Okay, look. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to eat this eventually," she said as she pushed a bag of packaged blood into the vampire's hands.

Conrad stared at the red liquid and licked his lips hungrily. It was a completely unintentional motion. But for some reason, the blood looked so...so...appetizing and he couldn't take his eyes off of it.

Hanna mistook his fascination for hesitation and said in a cheerful voice, "Pretend it's tomato juice or something!"

Conrad flinched and flung the blood packet away, "I don't need this shit! I don't need you!" He shoved Hanna away, "D-damn it, I..." His gaze traveled across the floor to the bag which was resting next to the table the Ahimsa agent was still sitting on, "I... I don't know what to do..."

Worth rolled his eyes. "Well, ifin' you're gonna be busy having a midlife crisis over there, do us all a favor." He spun around in his chair, several tools in hand, and elbowed Conrad in the stomach on the way around. "Sit down and shut the fuck up!"

"Don't touch me!" Conrad snapped suddenly, smacking the man's arm away, "I didn't fucking _ask_ to be here! That little shit head," He jabbed a finger at Hanna who stared back with wide eyes, "Dragged me here after he got me killed!" The vampire scowled, eyes narrowing, "Wherever this place is. Who the hell are you people, anyway?"

"The Ultimate Alliance!" Hanna piped up cheerily, hoisting himself back onto the table and kicking his feet back and forth in the air, "How about that one, Toni? Was that one cool?"

Toni gave a laugh and shook her head. "Sounds a bit too much like a comic book team, sorry. Anyway, do you mind if I leave with you guys? I really need to sleep."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Worth gestured without looking to the door, his focus on Hanna's leg again. "Leave the pup in our care, I see how it fuckin' is."

The woman let out a laugh, then turned and began to walk away, her combat boots clicking against the floor. "I'll take that as a yes. Goodnight, boys."

"Feh," Worth scowled as he jabbed at Hanna's leg, not even acknowledging Toni's farewell. "Whatever. Princess, I know it's hard for you to _not_ bitch and whine, but shut the fuck up for a second, would you? We have business t' discuss here."

Conrad scowled at the blonde man for a moment, but sat down on a rather creaky chair with a huff and crossed his arms over his chest.

This temporarily brought a smirk to Worth's face, as he was clearly pleased with being listened to. It was time to get back to business, however. He jerked his head toward the ahimsa agent, whom had sat in silence the whole time. "What're ya gonna do with that asshole over there, eh?" he asked, looking to Hanna.

The ahimsa agent blinked and glanced up at the two of them. He'd been lost in thought, simply taking the whole scene in. Their names, the way they acted... it was strange, really. Of course, now they were talking about him, so he figured it was a good idea to focus.

Hanna's blue eyes stared, wide and innocent, looking almost thoughtful. And then a brilliant grin spread across his face, "I got a great idea! He'll be my _hostage_!" The young redhead puffed up his chest, still grinning, looking like he'd just won some sort of prize.

Both Worth and the Ahimsa agent just sort of stared at Hanna for a moment. Then Worth outright laughed. "You? With a hostage? You fuckin' kidding me?" he cackled as he set the last of the tools back onto the table. kicked off on the dirty floor, sending his office chair rolling across the room to his obscenely messy desk. "You'd probably _show him the fuckin' door_. Ya shoulda killed him when you had the chance." There was a dark note to his voice as a scapel appeared in his hands seemingly from nowhere, gleaming dangerously in the flickering lighting. He looked from the small knife to the agent, eyes narrowed. "N' that there's anything stoppin' us now."

"Whoa, hey, wait a second!" Conrad sputtered, his gaze lingering fearfully on the scalpel as though afraid Worth would turn it on him, "That guy's from Ahimsa! You can't just...you can't just _kill him_!"

Hanna looked wildly between Worth and the Ahimsa agent, panic spreading across his features, "W-wait a second, Worth! He...I...we could get information out of him!" The redhead levered himself off the table and stumbled into the space between the two men, "Come on, Worth, please. I'll take care of him, I promise! I'll keep him tied up, and... and feed him and everything, and I'll never let him out of my sight! I swear it! Please...?"

Worth blinked as Hanna quite suddenly came between him and the agent. The gesture was almost pointless considering Worth could easily just glare over his head and ignore him like he was doing with Conrad, but the blond looked to the Hanna anyway. He then scowled. "Ya sound more like you're pleadin' for a fuckin' puppy than a hostage, brat," he grunted out, folding his arms as he glared down his nose at the redhead. "You do realize what you're askin', don't ya? He's the fuckin' enemy, he's not just another guy off the street. He wanted to _arrest_ your pathetic little ass, and I doubt I have to explain to you just what it is he does to people like you." He paused for a moment, then fished into his pocket and pulled out something glowing and blue.

"If I hadn't taken his badge and disabled it, this place would already be swarming with Ahimsa," he said as he held up the object in question, teeth grinding down on his cigarette. He looked to the owner of the badge, eyes narrowing as he waited for a reaction.

The ahimsa agent just stared right back, shoulders squared. Some part of him knew this wasn't right. A part of him, the part that was trained and remembered years of schooling and propaganda, insisted this was wrong and that badge belonged in his coat, insisted that tampering with that glowing piece of technology was a violation and he had to stop it. That part was almost panicking as it seemed to click for him just where he was, that he was in the veritable belly of the beast and without that tracking chip rescue was far less likely and they shouldn't have been tampering with his badge and he should say something...

And yet the rest of him found that as he stared at that badge, he didn't really care.

When it became clear he wasn't going to get a reaction, Worth gave a sneer and muttered something about 'damn government dogs' under his breath before turning to Hanna again. "Even without t' tracking chip, him bein' here is a _huge_ Goddamn risk. If he gets loose, we're done for, and that's assuming he doesn't get lucky and kill someone on the way out. It's not just your head, Hanna, it's _all_ of our fuckin' necks." Again he gave a pause, taking a long drag of his cigarette before arching a brow at Hanna. For someone who had been swearing up a storm and acting for all the world like he didn't give a damn, he seemed strangely serious.

"So, on that note; Are you _sure_ you wanna do this?"

Hanna bit his lip and looked over his shoulder at the Ahimsa agent. In that instant, though he seemed conflicted, his eyes were painfully clear. It was as if they could see right through him, see every strange thought that had crossed his mind and read through every conflict that he'd had over the past few hours.

He had to wonder just what it was Hanna saw with those eyes.

"Yeah, I want to." Hanna finally said in a firm voice, turning back to Worth with a resolute expression on his face. The serious look suddenly became a brilliant smile, "Don't worry, Worth, he won't try to escape! Will you, Aarao?" The redhead spun on his heel, turning the wide smile on the Ahimsa agent.

The dark-haired man blinked in surprise, apparently unsure of how to respond to suddenly being addressed in such a friendly manner. The part of him that was still very much an agent was screaming at him, was shouting out defiances and insisting he'd break out and find a way to report all of them, was insisting Hanna was obviously insane and this whole thing was ridiculous.

But in spite of all that, when he opened his mouth all that came out was "I won't." And strangely enough, he knew it was true, because how could he try to escape when that smile was the most welcoming, honest thing he'd seen in years?

"Tch," Worth snorted. "Like you can take his word for it. But fine, whatever. He's your problem now," He gave a shrug and turned back to his desk so he could shuffle through his piles of junk. "Your leg's obviously fine, so you're free t' go play hopscotch or have a slumber party whatever it is you girls do on a Friday night. You just make sure your new fuckin' dog doesn't leave your side, ya got me? If I find out you let him go, the Ahimsa storming the place will be the _least_ of your fuckin' problems."

Hanna cringed a little but nodded once and bounded away to the Ahimsa agent, beaming, "Come on! Follow me! I'll give you a tour!" Then he spun away and headed for the door, stopping beside the surly looking Conrad on his way, "You can come too, Mr. Achenleck! It'll be great! You're one of us now!" Hanna tapped a thumb to his chest as though this was a good thing.

Conrad couldn't stop the disgusted expression from showing on his face, "I am _not_ one of you," he growled under his breath but stood up anyway. It wasn't like there was a home he could go back to anymore.

The Ahimsa agent blinked as he watched Hanna and Conrad interact, then shook his head. He supposed he couldn't blame Conrad for being upset, though Hanna certainly seemed cheery considering he'd just forced a person into second class citizenship and was supposed to be dragging around a 'hostage'. He was already coming to accept the fact that Hanna was decidedly strange, however, so with that thought he stood and followed Hanna toward the door.

"Alright," Hanna thrust a fist in the air, the light glinting off the sides of his bracers, "Adventure ho! Come on, guys! See you around, Worth!"

Worth rolled his eyes and held up a hand in a light half-wave. "Yeah, yeah, have fun. Don't do anythin' too stupid, you have shit to do tomorrow."

Hanna either didn't hear him or he just ignored him because he just led the vampire and the Ahimsa agent out the door and into a dusty cement hallway with a single naked lightbulb dangling off the ceiling. There were a few other doors that were closed but Hanna led them right past those and to a short flight of stairs.

"Welcome," the redhead cried in a dramatic voice as they reached the top of the stairs, "To the headquarters of Peace and Love Incorporated!" And he thrust his scrawny arms out dramatically as though they could encompass the enormous space the trio had just stepped into.

The room in question appeared to be two stories high and made from solid concrete. A multitude of large florescent lamps hung from the ceiling, their flickering light casting shadows across the floor. The ground in question was mostly bare, though it was sparsely covered with a variety of large, mismatched sections of carpet. Rusted machinery and what appeared to be large, rotting rolls of carpet were shoved to the sides of the room, casting dark outlines against large, tinted windows. A set of rusty metal stairs wound along the edges of the room and lead up to a balcony and multiple doors, but for the moment Hanna's focus seemed to be on the main room.

There was a patch of what was supposedly a rug at one point but over decades of just _sitting_ there, it had become rather like a flat piece of something that didn't look at all safe to touch. Scattered around this sad excuse for a rug were various pieces of furniture.

Or, rather various pieces of junk passing as furniture. A couple of arm chairs, one with the flip-out footrest missing, a love seat with various odd stains and tear across its back, and a couch were all positioned around a small desk that looked to be on its last legs. Sitting atop the desk was what appeared to be the most ancient television set in existence. It wasn't even a holoscreen but a glass pane in a metal and plastic box.

But as terrifyingly unsafe and unsanitary as the place looked, it had a very homey feeling of warmth and family to it.

This was effectively ruined when Conrad spat out, "This place is disgusting."

Hanna appeared to deflate somewhat at this comment and glanced at the Ahimsa agent as though waiting for him to say something nice about it and prove the vampire wrong.

The Ahimsa agent blinked as he stared at the seemingly random grouping of what appeared to the best of the worst in the dumpster. He got the feeling he should probably feel more disgusted than he was, but he was too busy staring at the terrifying, puke green floral pattern on the couch. He was kind of impressed that things like the couch and the terrifyingly old TV set still existed.

"It's..." he searched for a word. "Homely."

Apparently this was enough for Hanna because that ridiculous grin came back and he bounced on the balls of his feet, "Come on, there's still more!" And he broke into a brisk walk that was almost a skip.

They passed a large, shadowy area that appeared to have been where trucks would have once dumped their shipment of supplies. Long since abandoned, the only thing in there now was a vehicle that had definitely seen better days. Rust and pant mingled together with flakes of dirt and grime, bits of _something_ were stuck to the front, one of the headlights was missing, and there was a scratch along one side that ended in a very large dent and a smear of dark, brown-red. it was like some sort of hulking, ancient beast that had just enough life left in it to be dangerous.

Hanna caught them looking and said with a laugh, "Oh, that's the Worth-Mobile!" And left it at that as though it explained everything.

Mahogany eyes stared blankly at the vehicle. Then he just looked to Conrad, gave a sort of half shrug and followed Hanna again. Personally, he was just impressed there was a vehicle at all.

The eccentric redhead led them past the "garage" and pointed in his over-dramatic fashion at a couple of doors. "And that's the bathrooms and the locker rooms, only the lockers are all gone! So there's just showers in there now," he said cheerfully, "And sometimes the showers don't work but when they do it's fun... and cold. And sometimes rusty or black. But hey, at least we have showers, right?"

Conrad's expressions of distaste before were nothing compared to the look of pure disgust he he did now. He even seemed to turn a little green.

Hanna's 'hostage' frowned slightly as he looked to the large metal doors. "What was this place before it was your... ah, home? If you don't mind me asking?" he inquired as he glanced back to the rest of the first floor and the machinery that had been shoved out of the way.

"A carpet factory," Hanna replied with a grin, "Isn't that the coolest thing _ever_? There's even a smokestack on the top and if you climb it you can see for miles! It's awesome!" The redhead gestured for them to keep following him, "Come on, we're going upstairs now!" And he bounced off towards the rickety metal stairs winding upwards.

They creaked dangerously underfoot but Hanna didn't seem to notice because he thudded up them, boots slamming down on the old metal so that it groaned and flecks of rust spiraled off it. Conrad looked absolutely terrified and he clenched the spindly excuse for a railing that ran up one side of the staircase like it was a lifeline. More than likely if he put too much weight on it, it would snap right off.

When they reached the balcony, Hanna pointed to the first door and, looking over his shoulder at the other two, said in that same happy tone of voice, "That's our kitchen and stuff! Only there's no food in there right now. Lamont said he'd bring some later, though, so it's cool."

The Ahimsa agent frowned as he peeked through the doorway. The kitchen looked normal enough, though the metal cupboards were dented and a door was missing off of one of them. There was a periodic drip from the rusted faucet, and he found himself wondering how long this had been going on. It was entirely possible this issue was as old as the refrigerator, which was a towering, yellowed monstrosity that looked like it had seen better days. For some reason the idea that it was empty didn't sit well with him. Hanna appeared to be all skin and bones as it was.

Said redhead continued his happy little tour and pointed to the next couple of doors. One was covered in faded lines though the name "Hanna" was visibly scribbled on it. The one next to it had a beat up, metal sign the had KEEP OUT on it in big professional letters. It looked like it had come straight off an Ahimsa road block barricade.

"Okay so, that's my room and you can't go in there." Hanna pointed to the door with his name on it, "Well, unless you knock or something, you know?" He let out a snort of laughter and pointed to the second door, "And that's Veser's room and you can't go in there either otherwise you'll totally piss him off. And," Hanna jabbed a finger past two other doors at a second flight of steps that vanished upwards to what was apparently a third floor, "Don't even _think_ about going up there 'cause Toni doesn't let _anyone_ up there. Oh yeah, and don't go in the basement."

Conrad frowned, "But weren't we just down there?"

"Yyyyyeeeaaahhhh," Hanna shrugged, smiling sheepishly, "Well, you can go in Worth's office _sometimes_ if you're, you know, _bleeding_ or something. But most of the time he just throws a beer bottle at your head." The redhead chuckled, "I think it's how he shows affection."

The Ahimsa agent's brow furrowed as he looked from Hanna to the highly abused "keep out" sign and back again. The more he heard about the redhead's home life, the more he had to admit he felt slightly concerned.

"Hanna, hey! How'd the mission go?" A voice echoed through the large room, interrupting the Ahimsa agents thoughts and drawing his gaze to the stairwell.

A young man who appeared to be around nineteen was ascending the staircase, a faded, light green towel draped across his shoulders, his grayish-brown hair still wet from what had probably been a recent shower. "Man, you are so lucky you actually got to do shit," he grumbled, a scowl revealing a set of terrifyingly sharp teeth. "Worth's such a fucking asshole, keeping me here! I mean, come _on_. I only blew up one fucking building last time! One, and then Toni's all like 'oh you're too dangerous to bring along'! I mean, I know she totally digs that and thus she obviously has to hide it, but seriously, I..." His voice trailed off as he finally came to a stop at the top of the staircase, shockingly bright green eyes flicking from Conrad to the handcuffed Ahimsa agent before looking to Hanna again.

"...What."

"Oh hey, Veser!" Hanna beamed at the boy, "We've got new members for the Resist-All-Things-Governmenty Alliance! That's Conrad Achenleck! He's a vampire! And this is my hostage!" Hanna happily patted the Ahimsa agent on the arm as he couldn't reach the man's shoulder, "Isn't this the coolest! Worth put me in charge of the hostage!"

"W-wait a second!" Conrad sputtered angrily, "I am _not_ a member of your fucking uprising! Leave me out of this!"

Hanna didn't appear to have heard him.

Veser just stared for a moment. "...Seriously? Worth put you in charge of a hostage?" he asked, looking dubiously to the man Hanna had patted on the arm. When he received a nod in response, a terrifying grin came to his face. "He must be absolutely useless for Worth to put _you_ in charge of anything."

"Hey!" Hanna frowned, "He is not! He beat up a vampire! I saw him! It was totally awesome!" The redhead crossed his arms over his chest, sparks spitting out of his bracers as the glowing lines on them touched. Hanna didn't appear to care, "And don't say it like I can't take care of myself! I'm twenty-four, I'm an adult and, unlike some people, I'm _responsible_."

The younger man gave a snort in response. "Uh huh. You're responsible, and while we're at it, Worth bathes more than once a month." He snickered and gave Hanna a light punch on the arm, his grin making it rather clear he was joking. He then looked to Conrad and the Ahimsa agent again, raising a brow. "So like... did you just happen to pick up a random vampire and guy or what?"

"It's a long story," Hanna's 'hostage' put in.

Veser looked at him for another moment, then looked to Hanna and smirked. "You totally got them killed, didn't you?"

"W-well, not...exactly..." Hanna cringed a little, "See there was this vampire and it kind of got out of control and Mr. Achenleck kind got killed..." Conrad produced a growling noise at this and Hanna quickly said, "But it's okay because I brought him back to life-sort of-and the Council didn't get him so it's all cool! And, hey, Neo's not dead so everyone's happy, right?"

"I'm not." Conrad snapped, scowling darkly at the redhead.

Veser burst out laughing at this. "I fucking knew it, ahaha! Man, if this isn't an argument that I need to be going on these missions, I don't know what is!" He exclaimed, clutching his sides.

"No, if _you_ went they'd _both_ be dead, dumbass!" Worth's voice rang out from the first floor. He currently stood at the top of the basement stairs, hands on his hips, a tendril of smoke wafting from his cigarette and dispersing through the room

"Would not!" The sharp-tooth boy scowled as he leaned over the railing to glare down at Worth.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. It's too fucking late to argue with you an' I'm sick o' hearing your shrill lil' prepubescent voices," Worth grumbled as he flicked the ashes from his cigarette onto the floor. He then gestured with the lit end toward the room doors. "All of you, get to fuckin' bed. I was serious when I said you had shit to do tomorrow."

"Alright, alright, we're gooiiiinnnngggg." Hanna said, rolling his eyes but he was grinning, "Okay, Mr. Achenleck, you can have that room closest to the stairs there. You might have to shove some boxes out of the way but it's okay because we'll clear it all out later!"

"What!" Conrad screeched, "Boxes! You want me to sleep in a _storage closet_!"

Veser gave another snicker. "Well, you're sure as hell not sleeping in _my_ room."

"Don't worry, it's not that bad!" Hanna chirped, rocking on his heels so that he swayed back and forth on the spot, arms swinging. "Oooh, wait, here." Hanna dashed to the third door down, threw it open, and vanished inside for a moment. There was a loud crash and a second later, a dust covered Hanna appeared with a raggedy looking blanket that was just as dusty. He strolled over and thrust it into Conrad's hands, "There you go! A homey touch!"

Conrad wrinkled his nose at the thing in his arms but didn't drop it. At the moment, it was his only _real_ possession. As disgusting as it was.

This task done, Hanna focused on his hostage. "Darrius, hmmmm," The redhead paused for a moment as he thought, "Well, I guess since you'll have to stay in my room for now since, you know, you're still my hostage and all." Hanna grasped the doorhandle to his room.

"H-hey, wait!" Conrad stood on the balcony looking completely lost, "I...wait a second..." He trailed off hopelessly.

There came a snort of laughter from below as Worth watched Conrad's reaction. "Relax, pup. 'M pretty sure there's a cot or something. Grow a fuckin' pair already, nothing tha' goes bump in the night here is gonna hurt you... much," the doctor drawled as he leaned against the wall.

"I'm not _scared_!" Conrad shot back, leering over the railing, "I just don't want to go to sleep in a fucking closet, thank you very much!"

"Aaaw, I'm so sorry we don't have a fuckin' princess suite all laid out for you. You'll get used to it!" Worth called back with a grin.

"Don't worry, Mr. Achenleck! We'll get everything sorted out tomorrow! G'night Veser!" Hanna waved a hand at he teenager, "G'night Mr. Achenleck, er...are you even going to go to sleep?" Without waiting for an answer, Hanna leaned over the railing and shouted down to Worth, "Good niiiiiiiiigggghhhhhtttt, Wooooooorrrrttttthhhh!"

Worth rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Feh. Yeah, yeah, 'night." He muttered before turning and vanishing back into the basement.

"Night, Hanna," Veser drawled as he passed the redhead, forcing his large, rusted metal door open with a horrifying scream of rusted hinges. With a final grin at the remaining trio, he vanished.

The Ahimsa agent blinked, then glanced to Conrad and gave a small shrug, as if trying to insinuate sympathy solely through this action. There was little else he could do, however, and so when Hanna pulled open the door to his room, the dark-haired man followed.

"Watch your step." Hanna called as he flicked a light switch and an old florescent light buzzed to life overhead, lighting up the interior of the room.

Mahogany eyes widened as his companion took in the sight of the place. The room was relatively small, but that hadn't stopped Hanna from using every square inch of space. There was a small, battered mattress placed haphazardly upon a mountain of rolled up carpets, as well as a multitude of battered shelves and tables. What was really interesting was the things upon them, however.

Every which way one turned, there was some sort of clutter. There was a stack of comics that reached nearly eight feet high, a glance at the side revealing the top book on the stack to be a Spiderman comic from the 90s. An aged, battered tupperware bin served as a box for a multitude of toys, from baseballs to yo-yos to multi-colored plastic slinkies. A shelf was lined with all sorts of things, from old Disney video cassettes to a special edition copy of _The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King_. There was a variety of beaten up plush dolls and slightly battered action figures, and posters of all sorts of comic book heroes and old TV shows covered the walls, including a _Dick Tracey_ poster.

It was all fascinating in a cluttered, messy sort of way. It was also decidedly illegal, as the Ahimsa agent knew quite well that all these objects had been banned after the war in 2012.

"...Wow," the dark-haired man murmured as he closed the heavy metal door behind him.

"I know! Isn't _awesome_!" Hanna cried, misunderstanding the comment, "Sometimes I find this stuff in the trash but Lamont brings me a lot of it; he always brings me something when he comes by." The red head flopped onto the mattress, grinning, "So how's you're head doing?"

"Uh..." His companion frowned as he grabbed a pillow from a nearby stack and settled on what appeared to be a somewhat-less beaten down piece of carpet. "It still hurts, actually. I hope I don't have a concussion..."

"Don't worry, you'll be all right!" Hanna said cheerily, pulling his feet up on the mattress. He was still wearing his boots; in fact, he was still fully clothed and it didn't seem to bother him in the least, "Worth has me sleep with concussions all the time and I'm _fine_!"

The Ahimsa agent stared at him for a moment. That feeling of concern was coming again, and he was starting to wonder if this was going to be a regular thing. "Alright then... if you say so. Are you sure it's alright for me to sleep here? I'm supposed to be your hostage and all."

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Hanna said, setting his glasses aside and flicking another nearby switch. The lights dimmed to a dark gloom but didn't go out, "G'night, Gallahad." Then he rolled over so his back was to the Ahimsa agent and pulled the blankets up so they almost covered his head.

His companion simply watched him for a moment, seeing the way the blankets rose and fell with his breath, the way the blue glow from his bracers was dimmed by the cloth but never truly vanished. It was... strange, to say the least.

The dark-haired man shook his head, then laid down, his eyes going to the cracked ceiling. This whole situation was weird, really. If one had told him mere hours ago that he was going to meet the most wanted Undesirable in all of Varuna, his response would have been that he would make arrests as necessary and handle it as he was supposed to. He would never have guessed the whole Achenleck case would be the considerable mess that it had ended up being, nor would he have guessed he'd find himself a hostage. For that matter, he wouldn't have guessed that 'hostage' to the resistance apparently meant being treated far friendlier than he ever had been treated at the office or in the inner circle of the city.

It was all very strange.

The people here, they were all very strange, and he wasn't sure what to make of it all just yet. His mind was a blur, a terrible mismatch of the agent in his mind and fresh memories of a wide smile, and nothing he'd learned today fit with what he'd known before. A part of him was screaming at him that he needed to escape, but the carpet below him was strangely comfortable and he found his mind was simply too muddled to think clearly and he was drifting off.

He slept better that night than he had in months.


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Oh God, I'm so wiped."

Veser's words were spoken in a groan as he collapsed, facedown, on The Couch, his upper half nearly swallowed by the single overstuffed cushion. "I'm done, man," He grumbled, voice muffled as his hands clenched into weak fists. "Worth has finally done me in. This is it, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Tell Toni she's hot for me one final time, bro."

"How? I can't even feel my legs." Hanna fell backwards onto the love seat with a sigh and closed his eyes, "I think I'm finally dying..."

"Man the fuck up, dude," Veser grunted. "You didn't have to scrub the bathroom."

"Actually, I believe that was me," The Ahimsa agent spoke up from his place in one of the arm chairs. He was leaning back, hands in his lap, mahogany eyes gazing dully at the ceiling. He couldn't help but absently muse that his own training had been less brutal than the multitude of chores had been.

Veser gave a snort from across the room. "That's a good point," He said as he forced himself to rise on shaky arms. "Hanna, why the hell didn't we make him do more? He's a _hostage_."

"Oh, well, er..." Hanna ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up on end, "He was really nice about it and he's new so..yeah. But I could make him do whatever I want, right Stefano?" Tired blue eyes flickered over to the Ahimsa agent.

"Clearly," Hanna's hostage replied, completely deadpan. And really, he found he wasn't lying. Hanna could have asked him to do just about anything, and within the limits of the fact that his wrists were still bound (though Hanna had found a way to extend the electrical chain going between the cuffs, so he had more than enough room to move), he would have done it. This in itself was rather odd, now that he considered it.

He'd come to accept the oddity of all, though. It had been three days since his 'kidnapping', and thus far he'd found it really hadn't been so bad. Three days of being dragged all over the factory by Hanna, three days of being amused by some downright terrible name choices, three days of watching the redhead be bossed around by a downright terrifying doctor. Three days of watching Hanna and Veser goof off as they tackled the giant list of chores Worth had given them, three days of water fights and races down the stairs and him sighing and trying to get it all done.

Three days of being treated more like a friend than a hostage, and he still wasn't sure what to make of it.

He was sure of one thing though, life here was very different than it was in the inner circle of Varuna. While there it was all about set patterns and schedules, here life seemed to flow by with ease, activities decided more by whim than anything. While in the inner circle everything was about status and fake smiles, about advancing yourself to the next stage, here it didn't seem to matter. Granted, Worth had a tendency to put himself above everyone else, but here it was all smiles and laughter, real, genuine laughter as opposed to forced laughs at bad jokes. There it had all been run by robots and there was far too much free time to fill with nothing, whereas here there always seemed to be something to do. Something was always breaking or needed to be scrubbed, someone always had to be working, and there was something strangely fascinating about this constant mundane flow of life. There it was all speed and hurried conversations, here everything ticked by in a slow, leisurely sort of rhythm.

It was everything he'd never seen before, filled with some strange feeling he couldn't quite place. Whatever it was, he was finding he enjoyed it.

The Ahimsa agent frowned thoughtfully as he looked to Hanna, whom seemed to be smiling in spite of his exhaustion. The redhead was always smiling, a real, genuine smile no matter how tired he was. He had a feeling this oddness, this thing he couldn't place that was so very different, it all centered on that man, but he couldn't put his finger on what it all was just yet.

Maybe it was just Stockholm Syndrome. But regardless, he was finding himself feeling somewhat attached to his various captors, and he didn't know what to make of it all.

There was a loud bang from upstairs and a muffled curse word. Hanna looked up at the balcony,

"How're you doing Connie?"

The vampire leaned over the railing, eyes bright with agitation and a beat up box in his arms. He glared down at the trio and snarled,

"Fuck you, Hanna! You and your stupid uprising!" Conrad had been saying variations of this statement for the past couple of days; mostly whenever Hanna was around.

Veser gave a snort at this, then looked to the redhead and grinned with those terrifying teeth of his. "Wow Hanna, I think that was a bit nicer than usual. I think he might be warming up to you." He said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

The Ahimsa Agent highly doubted it. He looked up the balcony, brow furrowing. While he was finding he was enjoying his position, Conrad clearly wasn't. He really wasn't sure what to make of the situation. They were both there against their will, but at least he was still human. Conrad was stuck, and it seemed he was just going to have to get used to it.

Before, he would have had an argument that Conrad would be better off to register and get it over with. He was starting to feel unsure about that, however.

"Alright assholes, why the fuck are you all sittin' here?" Worth's voice echoed through the room, the basement stairs squeaking as he made his way up them. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Awwwwww, but Woooorrrttthhhh," Hanna whined, sagging on the love seat so that his back was on the seat cushions, his chin was on his chest, and his legs stuck out awkwardly into the middle of the rug, "We're exhauuussssstteeeedddd!"

"Bullshit you're exhausted," Worth grunted as he came to a stop before the trio, arms crossed in front of his chest. "You've had to do worse, you'll be _fine_. Now come on, _someone_ has t' make dinner, and it sure as fuck ain't gonna be me. I'm not a Goddamn woman."

Hanna saw this as a perfect opportunity to prove that he had total control over his hostage. He sat up and pointed at the Ahimsa agent,

"Iain! Go make pancakes!"

There was a beat of silence as everyone stared at Hanna. The Ahimsa agent was the first to break it. "...What?"

"Go make pancakes!" Hanna said excitedly, his usual enthusiasm coming back as he bounced up and down on the cushions, "We can have breakfast for supper! It'll be so awesome! And there will be pancakes for everyooooonnnnneeeee~!" The redhead threw his hands into the air excitedly.

A small cardboard box came sailing over the railing on the second floor and smacked into the side of Hanna's head. Conrad's angry voice followed it,

"Not everyone, you moron!"

Hanna just grinned sheepishly up at the vampire and picked the box up, spinning it around in this fingers.

Worth snorted at this. "What, are your panties still in a knot 'bout that? Get the fuck over it, Alice. 'M sure there are dozens of annoying lil' misunderstood teenagers who're jealous of your position, y'know."

Veser let out a groan. "Would both of you shut up? The last thing I want to hear is another damn argument between you two," He said as he finally sat up, adjusting his blue hoodie as he did so. The shark's fin at the back, an odd addition to say the least, seemed to be sticking up at a weird angle. "Pancakes sound great, but did you seriously already forget? We're out of food, dumbass."

The doctor blinked, turning to Veser and scowling. "What d'ya mean, we're _out_? I bought shit the other day, we should be good for the next week or so."

"Uh, not with _that_ monster over there," The teen grunted as he finally succeeded in adjusting his hoodie and proceeded to arch his back in an attempt to stretch it out. "He ate the last of it this morning," He declared, pointing at Hanna and glowering.

Hanna forced an expression of innocence on his face, pulling the box over his messy red hair as though he could hide under it.

"W-well flying takes a lot of energy and you never know when something's going to happen!" The redhead protested, sinking a little in the love seat, "And, er, taking care of a hostage is a lot of work too...!"

"Bullshit!" Worth snapped, hands clenching into fists as he began to stalk toward Hanna. The smoke from his cigarette gave the appearance of him smoldering due to rage. "I don't believe you! You little pig! I swear, I don't know why I don't just throw you out onto the streets sometimes! You know that food is rationed! I oughta ring your little neck!"

"Ooh, do it, I'll watch!" Veser declared excitedly.

"Don't think you're off the hook either!" The blond snarled as he rounded on Veser. "You really think I'm gonna believe the brat ate all of that? Like hell, he doesn't even _like_ tuna. I know a certain fucking half-selkie mutt who does, though."

Veser paled slightly. "H-hey, hey, come on man, it wasn't me!" The teen yelped as he tried to back up, only to be stopped by the worn down Couch. "I-it, I... come on, I was hungry and we've been working like crazy, cut me some slack!"

The doctor let out a growl. "Oh, I'll cut you some slack..." he hissed, displaying his rather stunning ability to make the simplest of statements sound like a threat. "After you're breathing through your damn eyeballs. Come here!"

With a yelp and a burst of energy he'd been lacking mere seconds ago, Veser had leaped over the back of The Couch and was in a dead sprint for the stairs. Worth chased after him with a snarl, coat flaring behind him, hands clenched into fists.

There was a sudden clatter that went unnoticed by the angry doctor and fleeing teenager but Hanna looked around in time to see the front door levered open slowly. A man with black hair and an armful of who-knew-what was shouldering his way though the door, trying to keep his objects from falling to the floor.

Hanna's brilliant smile appeared again and he leaned over the back of The Couch, shouting at the top of his voice,

"Hi Lamont! Hey guys, Lamont's here!"

The dark haired man looked up from where he was kicking the door closed. His gaze traveled from Hanna to the chase going on between Worth and Veser. He looked back at Hanna, a smirk playing across his face,

"Hello Hanna. What did you do this time?"

Worth looked from Veser to the man at the door. "The little _brats_ went and ate the last of our food supplies again," He growled as he shot a downright terrifying glare in Veser's direction.

The half-selkie in question scowled back as he leaned against the balcony railing. "It's not _my_ fault we're starving. I'm a growing boy here!"

"Uh huh," Worth rolled his eyes as he flicked ash from cigarette, then turned and made his way down the stairs. "Did ya bring me m' package, shithead?" He asked as shoved his hands in the pockets of his coat.

The dark haired man, Lamont, pulled a face that mocked depression, "Oh, so I come home and all you care about is your package? Where's my love, huh?"

"We love you Lamont!" Hanna called, waving a hand through the air, "Did you bring food?"

Lamont rolled his eyes with a sigh and smile, "Yes, Hanna, I brought food." He wriggled a box out from underneath several other, "I brought you pizza."

Hanna looked like he was going to explode with happiness. He vaulted over the back of the love seat and raced across the room towards Lamont.

"Pizza!" Veser exclaimed. He proceeded to rush down the stairs, nearly knocking Worth over in his enthusiasm.

"Hey!" Worth yelped.

"Out of the way, old man!" The half-selkie snapped before very nearly tackling Lamont in his excitement over the box. "What toppings did you get? Are there anchovies!"

"Veser, you have to _share_!" Hanna shouted, grabbing the other side of the box and yanking on it, "Veser!"

"They're like little kids." Conrad said from above and Lamont laughed, nearly dropping his packages.

Veser scowled as he and Hanna stumbled their way to the abused coffee table, both still yanking on the box. "I'm going to, Christ! Let go, I get it first, you already ate today!"

Eli sat in the armchair as he watched Hanna and Veser fight, seemingly at loss for what to do. Well, at least there was food, though he wasn't sure what to make of this newcomer. He seemed considerably kinder than Worth, but something about his eyes seemed mildly shifty.

"Both of you cut it out! If you don't fuckin' find a way to split it without being morons about it, I'll split your heads," Worth scowled as he finally made his way over to Lamont and snatched a box from the top. He glanced over it for a moment, then gave a snort and tossed it over his shoulder. "This had better be worth it, 'Mont. I dun see why I'm fuckin' paying you."

"Haha, you pay because you care." Lamont chuckled and gently eased the rest of his boxes onto the love seat before straightening up. That's when his dark eyes fell upon the Ahimsa agent and he froze, spotting the familiar empty gun holster, "Worth...why is there an agent from the government sitting in our home?"

"Mmm! Hesh mhy hoshtage!" Hanna said through a mouthful of pizza, looking pleased with himself.

"Sure he is, Hanna." Lamont muttered, distracted, his gaze hard as he kept it on the Ahimsa agent, "Worth, what is that man doing here?"

"Believe it or not, he really is Hanna's hostage," The doctor snorted as he apparently found his box and started looking it over. "'S only 'cause he's a complete fuck-up though. Sparklepire up there is yet another result of his stunning idiocy. I'm pretty sure this is a record. Dun worry though, fucker's harmless. I disabled his badge and from what I can see, he hasn't tried anything."

"Fabian's different from the other Ahimsa guys," Hanna said, flopping onto the love seat and sending Lamont's boxes cascading to the floor, "Whoops, sorry. But really, he's not dangerous. Well, I mean, he totally kicked this vampire chick's butt but he won't hurt us. He's almost one of us; almost one the Goonies!" Hanna beamed and tilted his head back to look at Lamont, "You can trust him, Lamont. I do!"

"He's really not that bad," Veser agreed from his place on the couch, munching greedily on his own slice of pizza. "Seriously, he helped scrub _the bathroom_. He's a brave man."

The Ahimsa agent blinked in surprise as he looked between Hanna and Veser. Hanna backing him up was hardly surprising, though Veser was a bit weirder. He supposed he'd spent quite a bit of time with the two of them after the past few days, however, and he had to admit he was grateful that they both didn't hate him, at least. Another part of him insisted this was all ridiculous that they'd adopted him so easily, insisted he needed to find a way out, but he was finding that voice growing weaker and weaker as the days went by.

Was he really that different?

"Well then," Lamont put his hands into his pockets in a defeated sort of way, "I guess he's alright."

A clatter on the stairs and Conrad was suddenly edging towards them, looking longingly at the pizza. His jealous gaze flickered to Hanna who had a slice in his mouth and one in each hand. Then, with a dissatisfied huff, he slouched down onto The Couch and almost vanished into the cushions.

Hanna watched as the vampire sunk and then let out a cry,

"Connie, you found NARNIA! I knew there was a magic portal in there somewhere!"

There was a laugh from upstairs and a glance revealed Toni making her way down. "Why am I not surprised that there's a portal in our couch?" she said as she made her way along the balcony, manicured nails running along the edges.

Veser glanced up at her, then flashed a grin that was splattered with pizza sauce. "Daaang, someone's looking hot tonight!" He crowed, giving a low whistle.

Toni rolled her eyes as she stepped down the stairs, though she was smiling. "It's for the show, you know that by now." Her outfit was a bit nicer than usual, as she'd traded her multitude of skirts and layers for a slightly torn, glittering blue dress and some run-down, slightly mismatched gloves. In spite of the fact that the objects were obviously second hand, as was the case with anything owned by an Undesirable, she managed to look positively stunning.

Lamont smiled, "I take it you're ready to head out, then?"

"Oooh, oooh, I wanna go too!" Hanna said, raising one pizza sauce-stained hand into the air. There was a string of greasy cheese dangling from his bracer but he didn't seem to notice.

"Fuck no," Worth grunted as he set his box aside. "After that stunt you've pulled today, you've still got a lot of work t' do, you little brat."

Toni frowned as she turned to Worth and put her hands on her hips. "What? Come on Worth, you can't be serious. He comes to every show!"

"Don't care!" The blond snapped as he ground his cigarette between his clenched teeth and glared at Hanna "He's got a lot of shit to do, and your fancyass karaoke dance party isn't gonna get him out of it."

"Hmmm," Lamont rubbed a hand over his chin thoughtfully, "There's a client I'm meeting up with at the bar Toni's going to. If things take a turn for the worse, I could really use some bodyguards." He smiled cooly, then looked pointedly at Worth, "And this place looks a fair deal cleaner than it did the other day."

"Please, please, please, pleeeaaassseeee!" Hanna begged, "I'll be good! I promise! And Adrian will be good too! Won't you Adrian?" Hanna turned expectantly to the Ahimsa agent.

Hanna's 'hostage' blinked in surprise, clearly confused at being so suddenly addressed. "Ah... yes?" He said, still not entirely sure what he was agreeing to. This was the first time he'd heard anything about a 'show', and he was quite unsure as to what it entailed. The idea of going outside when he was still technically bound, especially in the slums, didn't really sit well with him.

But of course, how could he say no?

Toni had to laugh at this. "I'm sure Hanna will make a great bodyguard," She declared, her eyes sparkling with mirth.

"You can't be serious?" Worth stared at Lamont for a moment, then gave a scowl as he reached for a slice of pizza. "Fine. But if I hear any bullshit about how that Agent of yours got loose, there's gonna be trouble."

Veser nearly choked on his pizza. "Wait a second, he gets to go? What about me!" He sputtered, leaping up from his seat.

The doctor turned to shoot a glare at the half-selkie. "_You_ aren't doing anything fucking useful. Your ass is staying here."

"Seriously!" The half-selkie cried, hands balling into fists. "That's ridiculous, I didn't get to go anywhere last time either! That's not fair, you're just doing this to be a dick!"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that's _usually_ what Worth's motivation is," Toni put in dryly.

"Damn straight," The blond grunted as he took a bite of his pizza and flopped down into another armchair, then propped his disgusting shoes up on the table."Look, you know damn well it's best to avoid sendin' too many people out if they're all in one group. 'Sides, I need you on the monitors, just in case. _Someone_ has t' keep track of this brat." Worth jerked his head in Hanna's directions.

If looks could kill, Worth would have been smoldering from the glare Veser was sending him. "Again, seriously? I _hate_ that job!"

"That's nice," Worth drawled as he blew a puff of arid smoke into the air. The scents of cigarette smoke mixing with greasy pizza were mildly stomach-churning. "Get movin'."

Veser looked like he wanted to argue. He glared for another moment, then finally let out a curse and kicked Worth's chair. "Bastard," He grumbled as he stalked toward the basement. "This is the last time I'm doing this monitor bullshit, you're finding someone else!"

"Uh huh. Whatever you say, kiddo," Worth said cheerily as he flicked the ash from his cigarette. He then looked to Toni and smirked. "Well, what're you waiting for, sugartits? Don't you have some American Idol shit to take care of?"

The woman rolled her eyes, then turned for the door. "I know you need to fill up on pizza since you're going through your man period or whatever, but save me a slice for when I get back."

"Whoo-hoo!" Hanna stood up on the cushions and jumped off to land with a thud on the floor, "Party at the bar! I wanna get a Cosmopolitan! Lamont can I have a Cosmopolitan?"

"Maybe." Lamont grinned and there was something about that grin that made it seem like he would let Hanna have the drink if only to watch the redhead get into trouble afterwords.

"Hey Conrad! You should come too!" Hanna spun on the spun on the spot, his pathetic excuse for a cape flapping behind him, "It'll be awesome! And Toni's got a great voice."

"No." The vampire scowled, crossing his arms resolutely over his chest, "I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm not one of you...you...you Goobers or whatever the hell you're calling yourselves."

"Goonies!" Hanna corrected enthusiastically.

"Whatever. I don't care. I'm not going." Conrad glared straight ahead and refused to speak again, determined to prove to the whole world that he was pissed beyond reason.

Worth gave a snort, then made a shooing motion with his cigarette "Just let 'im be. If the princess is so determined t' sulk, there's no point in interrupting him. Get moving already, our little celebrity's gonna be late. You too, secret agent man."

The Ahimsa agent blinked, then nodded from his seat. "Alright," He looked to Hanna, then rose a brow. "I... suppose we're leaving, then?"

"Alright! Let's gooooooo!" Hanna reached out and grabbed the Ahimsa agent's arm, dragging him out the seat, "This is gonna be the best night _ever_!"

* * *

_Down The Rabbit Hole_ was officially the strangest bar he'd ever been in. What was really strange about it, the Ahimsa agent couldn't help but muse, was how oddly normal it seemed.

It was an old bar from what he guessed was before the war. The whole area was dimly lit, but was clean for the most part. Bright lights flickered from the dark ceiling, as well as a variety of smile white bulbs that were strung along the edges of the walls and along the staircase. The staircase lead to a balcony, which overlooked the whole first floor and provided an excellent view of the stage that jutted out into the crowd. The tables were relatively clean, though the dark-haired man had to admit he felt a bit nervous about the food he saw a waitress walk by with. The bar was filled to the brim with a variety of customers, from shabby looking men to women who were a bit scantily clad.

What was most odd, really, was how open it all was. The Ahimsa agent had been able to spot five vampires just by a quick glance through the room, and he swore he'd spotted other creatures as well. Here they were, out in the open and strangely at home, some scattered and marked, often wearing tattered clothing, but still they were here and they were living. It was a stark contrast to the Undesirables he'd seen in the inner circle, the creatures that seemed constantly shaken, their eyes darting this way and that as if they were always watching their back.

Sitting here amongst all the hustle and bustle, he had to admit he felt kind of out of place. He was used to the brightly lit restaurants of the inner circle, the shining bright lines of glowing neon and the sparkle of light from the various telescreens one used to order. This was a bit different.

Once again, he didn't entirely mind.

"Hey Odysseus, isn't this place _great_?" Hanna nudged the Ahimsa agent in the side, giving the man a sly sort of grin. The tips of his boots scraped against the floor as he swung his legs back and forth in his seat and the glowing lines on his braces glowed brightly in the gloom like beacons.

His companion blinked, then nodded. "Ah, yes... though I'll admit I feel a bit nervous. Won't people be somewhat upset that you brought an Ahimsa agent here?" He asked as he glanced around at the rest of the crowd.

Lamont chuckled lightly, "Don't worry so much. Stay close and don't do anything stupid and you should be fine." He seemed to be directing these words at Hanna as well as the Ahimsa agent.

"Right," The agent muttered as he shifted his arms, making sure his handcuffed wrists were under the table and well out of sight. "When did you say the person you needed to talk to would be here?"

"Er..." Lamont was suddenly distracted by a waitress tapping him on the shoulder and whispering in his ear. Lamont smiled in a charming sort of way and slipped the woman a couple of bills as she walked away. The dark haired man turned back to Hanna and the Ahimsa agent,

"I'm going to go talk now. You two just _stay here_," He rapped his knuckles on the tabletop as he stood and stared hard at Hanna who pretended not to notice, "And enjoy the show, alright?"

"But we're supposed to guard you!" Hanna protested.

"I'll be just fine, Hanna." Lamont assured the redhead, "You guys just have some fun." And with that he vanished into the gloom, his dark shirt blending in perfectly with the shadows.

The Ahimsa agent frowned as he watched Lamont walk off, then looked to Hanna. "Is it really alright for him to leave like that?" He spoke over a voice booming over the microphone, looking concerned.

"Aw, it's cool, Lamont can take care of himself!" Hanna said cheerfully, "And, hey, the show's starting!"

His companion frowned, but he doubted his voice was going to be heard over the sudden roar of applause, so he turned his attention to the stage as the lights dimmed.

A young man with longish brown hair, another with short red and a girl with her blond hair in a low ponytail stepped out on stage, taking their places at a piano, a guitar and a drum respectively. They were easily lost the moment Toni stepped out past them, however. She swept onto the stage in a blur of flowing hair and glittering material, flashing a dazzling smile as a gloved hand reached out to take the microphone. She didn't say a word, merely tapped her booted foot in time with the starting beats from the drum, swaying slightly with the opening riffs of the guitar.

_"Spin your body around,"_ She sang, her voice thick and powerful and something entirely different from what the Ahimsa agent was used to. _"Now your feet are gonna hit the ground. I am going sleepless and you're out of lullabies. Honey, honey, honey, you're the death of me! Won't stop holdin' my hands down. Baby, baby, baby, you'll never let me..."_

Toni continued her song, swaying and dancing to the beat, her movements flowing like water. The music played along with her in perfect time, the piano sounding strangely familiar and like something from an era past with a flair that was entirely new. This in itself was downright fascinating, and the part of the liveliness of it all came from the audience themselves. There was a variety of hollering and clapping, the occasional whistle, and some people even got up and began to sing and dance along. It was easily one of the most high energy performances the Ahimsa agent had ever attended, and while it wasn't exactly high production, he had to admit he liked it.

_"Everybody's breakin' and every time you start shakin', don't come calling my name..."_

He wasn't sure what it was, really. Certainly, Toni was a good singer, but there were plenty of musicians in the inner circle. He'd been to concerts before that were far better produced, ones where the microphone wouldn't occasionally short out and bits of the audience wouldn't break into drunken cat calls. Really, he'd technically gone to better.

But no one in the inner circle was as _alive_ as the people were here, and that made all the difference.

The Ahimsa agent blinked as he sat back, watching the display. "...Wow," He finally said, and he wasn't sure whether he was commenting on the performance or the fact that it had all finally clicked.

"I know! Isn't it _great_?" Hanna cried, leaning so far forward in his seat that he looked as though he was going to fall out of it.

His companion nodded absently, still lost in his thoughts and his viewing performance. Toni continued to dance on stage, her voice wafting through the room in a throaty sort of lilt.

_"You've got a dark heart, you've got a cold kiss..."_

"And the best part is," Hanna began, rocking back and forth, "Is that-." He stopped suddenly, frozen. His fingers clenched around the edge of the seat and he seemed to be holding his breath.

The Ahimsa agent frowned as he saw Hanna suddenly go entirely still, watched the way his shoulders suddenly tensed and his whole body seemed to jerk. "Hanna?" he asked slowly, brow furrowing. What was going on?

_"Hanna,"_ He heard Veser's voice from Hanna's earpiece, nearly lost in the din of the music. _"I'm not sure what this is, but there's some sort of blip on the screen and it's heading your way _real_ fucking fast."_

"I know." Hanna's voice was uncharacteristically serious and dark, his gaze distant as he stared at the floor, "I can feel it coming..."

"Feel what coming?" His companion asked. When Hanna merely remained frozen, he reached out to put a hand on the redhead's shoulder. "Hanna? What are you-"

He was cut off by the room seemingly exploding. The music abruptly came to a halt in a squeal of guitar strings and a violent clattering of mismatched piano notes, their discordant cries nearly lost amongst the screams of the audience. The microphone gave a loud, terrible groan over the loudspeakers as Toni leaped out of the way of falling rubble. Bits of shattered brick and splintered beams rained down upon the guests, crushing anything in their wake.

Such would have been the fate of Hanna Falk Cross, had the Ahimsa agent not flung himself from his seat and tackled the redhead to the ground. The two sat there amongst the debris as the screams and noise died down somewhat, long (albeit handcuffed) arms and strong back bent over Hanna in an attempt to shield him. After a moment the dark-haired man rose, bits of broken brick and dust falling from the shoulders of his trenchcoat as he gazed down at his captor. "Are you alright?" The Ahimsa agent asked, eyes narrowed.

"Yeah..." Hanna seemed distracted, his eyes still weren't focused, almost as though he was looking into another world, invisible to all eyes but his own. He drew in a sharp breath and said in a distant voice, "She's here."

"What?" His companion muttered, brow furrowing. After a moment of silence he gave Hanna a light shake, not quite sure the redhead had even heard him. "Hanna-"

Then came the scream.

It was loud, impossibly loud, shrill and high and strong enough to shatter glass. It was loud and it was pained, like the shrieks of a dying animal or a banshee. The cry echoed through the bar, causing all in the nearby area to cover their ears and give their own cries of pain.

As the dust cleared, the scream tapered off, revealing a curled up, shuddering ball of _something_ kneeling upon the stage. The thing, whatever it was, suddenly rose in the air, uncurling with a violent, unnatural movement. It looked as if it had been a young girl at one point, though whether it could be called that now was debatable. She was clad in a plain, tattered white dress, the remnants of it floating around her. Shaggy black hair hung in her eyes, obscuring them from view. Energy pulsated around her, black streaks that sent the Ahimsa agent on edge even from far away. Black lines wrapped across her pale skin, something like a spiderweb, though they seemed to be melting, oozing as if they were rotting away at her flesh. Bits of this black goop spread across her dress and slopped to the stage floor as she stood there for a moment, shaking violently.

The Ahimsa agent grimaced as he gazed over the railing at the creature, his hands still clapped over his ears. "What on earth?" He mouthed, eyes wide as he gaped at the creature.

It seemed the murmurs of confusion from the audience were enough to set the creature off, as she suddenly leaped into the air and floated there, energy crackling around her as she turned black rimmed golden eyes upon the balcony, and more specifically, Hanna.

"_YOU_," She screamed. "It's _you_! You did this to me, this is all your fault!" With those words she rushed at Hanna, becoming little more than a small black comet as she shot up to the balcony.

"WHY DIDN'T THEY GIVE ME A NAME!"


	6. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"Look out!" Hanna suddenly came back to life, grabbing the front of the Ahima's agent coat and throwing them both to the side with surprising strength to avoid being hit.

The creature whizzed by them in a blur of black, slamming into the wall with a _'crunch'_ that shook the entire building. Chairs and tables were knocked aside as they skidded to a halt. Hanna scrambled to his feet and started tugging on the Ahimsa agent, "Come on, move! We have to move!"

And without waiting for an answer, he took off, tripping over rubble and overturned furniture, screams and shouts echoing in the background. Hanna's eyes were wide with panic and shock, dirt smeared down his front, and a scrape across his cheek. His fingers were tight on the Ahimsa agent's coat as he continued to drag him through the wreckage. Dust chocked the air, hazy and thick, making it difficult to see. Hanna often stumbled over things he couldn't see but he just kept moving.

"We have to keep going!" He repeated, eyes darting this way and that, "Don't stop, whatever happens, just keep going! Just keep running, alright?" He flicked his gaze back at the man behind him, "Promise you'll just keep running?"

"Hanna, Hanna wait!" The Ahimsa agent cried over the chaos, his quiet voice nearly lost amongst the screaming. There was a spark coming from the handcuffs around his wrists and distantly he had to wonder if they were broken, but that was forgotten as Hanna suddenly looked to him. The world seemed to stop as he caught sight of the panic in the redhead's eyes. "Hanna... what's going on?"

He never got an answer, as at that moment the creature slammed into Hanna, the force sending the Ahimsa agent to the floor as the two of them rocketed into the nearest wall. "Why!" The creature shrieked amongst the rain of dust and small, broken bits of brick, her snarling visage mere inches from Hanna's as she held him against the wall. "Why did this happen to me? Why! IT'S NOT FAIR!"

"I...I don't know! I'm sorry!" Hanna cried, struggling in the thing's grip. He clawed at the creature's arms, the black stuff coming off on his fingers, "I'm sorry!"

"Hanna, look out!" Toni's voice rang through the air, shrill and clear above the din of chaos. The Ahimsa agent swung his head around around to spot a bright blue, skeletal monstrosity leap from the top of the stairs, glowing blue and snarling from something shockingly similar to a wolf's muzzle. It loped across the room in three easy strides before a set of bright blue claws shot out to smack the girl away, sending her flying across the room to break yet another table.

The Ahimsa agent sat in shock amongst the rubble as he watched this display, mahogony eyes wide. "A werewolf, huh?" He finally said, blinking in shock.

The creature, apparently Toni, looked down to him and flashed a wolfish grin. "Surprised?"

"...Considering the past few days, admittedly no," The man muttered as he got to his feet, dusting himself off. "What is that?" He asked as he nodded to the girl. She was currently convulsing on the splintered remains of the table, small feet kicking out as she let out a whimpering cry, leaving smears of black in her wake as bits of the wood clung to her goo-encrusted skin.

"Hell if I know." Came a voice and Lamont pushed aside a chunk of table, crawling over the remains with a grunt. He turned to Hanna, raising an eyebrow, "Well, Hanna...?"

Hanna bit his lip and shook his head, expression serious and looking somewhat sad at the same time, "Sorry guys, just let me handle this."

"What are you talking about?" Toni sounded confused as she glared at him through the wolf's eyes, looking between the redhead and the slowly rising creature. "You can't just fight that thing alone, we're all here for a reason! I'm helping you!"

As she argued, Veser's voice was crackling over Hanna's earpiece again, shrill and confused. _"Hanna? Hanna, what the fuck is going on over there! HANNA!"_

Hanna reached up and unclipped his earpiece and, Veser's voice still screeching from it, held it out to the Ahimsa agent, "Take care of this for me alright?" And he dumped it into the man's hand without waiting for an answer before facing Toni, "You can't fight her." The werewolf bristled and tried to snap out a reply but Hanna cut her off, "No, she's out of control. There's no way you can take someone like her. Just get everyone out of the bar. Please."

Toni glared at Hanna for a moment, her fur bristling in such a way that it made it clear she was trying to find a way around the redhead's words. Finally gave a nod. "Fine.. but you'd better be careful, Hanna." With those words she was gone, her voice ringing through the air as she began to herd people toward the exit.

"Hanna," the Ahimsa agent began, but the words died on his lips as he took in Hanna's determined gaze. After a moment he gave a nod and stepped back, slipping the earpiece into his own ear.

_"-are you fucking deaf or something? I asked WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON!"_

The man winced at the accented snarl coming out of the piece of equipment, jerking it away from his ear on reflex. Apparently Worth had taken over the microphone and was feeling _very_ displeased. "Worth?"

There was a beat of silence_. "...You. Why t' fuck do you have Hanna's earpiece?" _Worth's voice was suddenly terrifyingly calm, almost threatening.

The Ahimsa agent frowned as he looked to the situation again, watching as the creature finally rose from the rubble, hissing like an animal. "He gave it to me, I'm sorry."

_"Gave it to you? The fuck! I TOLD HIM TO _NEVER_ REMOVE IT, THAT PIECE OF SHIT! YOU HAND IT BACK RIGHT NOW OR SO HELP ME I'LL-"  
_  
"Worth, the bar is under attack. By something. I don't know what, I haven't seen anything like this before," The agent said quickly, brow furrowing.

There was a beat of silence.

_"...hand t' piece over to 'Mont."_

The dark-haired man blinked, then glanced over to Lamont. He then shrugged and held out the earpiece, barely catching some rant along the lines of _"RIGHT THE FUCK NOW, DUMBASS. YOU'RE SLOWER THAN MOLASSES GOING UPHILL IN JANUARY WITH MOTHERFUCKING CRUTCHES, JESUS CHRIST!"  
_  
Lamont snatched the earpiece from the Ahimsa agent and slipped it on, wincing as Worth's voice screeched in his ear, "Worth, shut up! I can hear you just fine!" Lamont was frowning across the room at Hanna who was squaring off against the creature, "Listen to me, I think it's..." The man paused, glanced at the Ahimsa agent, and turned his back, dropping his voice.

Hanna, meanwhile, was charging blue energy in his hands, the lines on his bracers glowing brilliantly. He was tense, pale, and almost seemed scared but there was a dark resolve in his gaze as he stared hard at the creature across from him.

The beast let out a snarl as she rose in the air, fingers twitched, energy flaring from their tips. "You... it's not fair. It's just not fair... why is it they gave you a name and not me?" She hissed out. "_WHY_!" This snarl unleashed a burst of energy that flew toward Hanna, destroying everything in its path.

Hanna threw his hands up, energy firing from his palms even as he skipped to the side, trying to avoid being hit. The blasts went wide and only succeeded in smashing more holes through the already ruined walls. Dust rained down on them, chunks of steel and concrete smashing to the floor and adding to the din.

"I don't know!" Hanna tried to charge an attack again, still trying to stay well away from the creature, "I'm sorry! I don't know!"

"LIAR!" The word was damning as it was spat from the girl's lips. She became a streak of black as she dodged bits of rubble before charging at the redhead at full speed, aiming to tackle him. "Of course you know, you would have to know, you're the center of all of it!"

"I never asked to be!" Hanna cried and then the breath was driven out of his lungs as the girl slammed into him. They crashed into the floor, splinters of wood and debris flying up around them. Dust rose thickly into the air, making it difficult to see.

There came another crash as the girl struggled to get herself free of a piece of table that had fallen on top of the two of them. After knocking it loose she pulled back one tiny fist, energy crackling within it. "Liar! Of course you asked for it, you had to do _something_! How were you different from me! IT'S NOT FAIR!" She shrieked as she slammed the fist toward Hanna's face. However, in her rage she missed, striking the floor next to his head instead and leaving splinters in her wake.

Hanna flinched backwards, "I didn't! I _swear_! No one told me anything!" His hands shot out and grabbed her wrists, "I'm sorry this happened but I'm not...it's not my fault! It's _not_!" Energy sparked underneath his fingers, flowing out of his bracers as he tightened his grip on the girl, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Golden eyes narrowed as they met bright blue, teeth baring to reveal gums that were rotting away as much as her skin was. "Lies... it's all lies!" With those words she pulled back, sending both of them crashing through the second floor railing and into the open air.

The ensuing fight was a dizzying blur. All the Ahimsa agent could make out from his place on the floor were the girl's gnashing teeth, wild eyes and streaks of black and blue as the two duked it out in a tangle of limbs and wild swings. The two streaked through the bar in a mess of light and blasts of energy, shattering tables, chairs and lights thanks to frequent misses. Hanna's 'hostage' stood on the second floor, seemingly enraptured by the chaos as the bar emptied out. It was impossibly fast, impossible to wrap his brain around it, strangely beautiful in its brilliance and terrifying and all he could do was wonder just what would happen to Hanna if everything went wrong. He wanted so badly to do something other than just stand there, but in that moment he felt helpless, rooted to the spot.

Or at least he was until the two of them suddenly came rocketing his way.

"What the hell are you doing!" Lamont's voice shouted, "Get out of the way! _Move_!"

He didn't need to be told twice. The agent leaped and rolled to side, narrowly avoiding the streaks of black and blue as they shot past him. He laid there for a moment amongst the shattered glass and remains of a splintered chair, absently noting a stab of pain his arm and a series of sparks from the cuffs around his wrist. The dark-haired man gave a grunt as he sat up on his knees, then took a look at his arms.

There was a gash from where he'd apparently clipped some broken glass, but most importantly, his handcuffs were in shambles. "The council really did lie when they said these were grade A quality," the agent muttered as he shook the last remains of the twisted metal to the floor. He then glanced up to what remained of a pile of tables in the corner, now a crater in the floor as the creature stood over Hanna's prone form.

The creature blinked, seemingly confused by Hanna's stillness. Blood mixed with the blackness oozing from her skin, most likely originating from a gash on the resistance member's forehead. After staring down at him for a moment, she gave a twitch. "Ah... why... no... no, no, no!" She shook her head violently, hands coming up to grip at it. Her fingers scraped at her scalp, drawing more black ooze as she shuddered. "Stop, stop, please... I can't stop, I can't stop, I can't stop!" Her voice rose in pitch as energy crackled to life around her and she rose in the air, the magic pulsing rhythmically around her as she screamed.

"Make it stop, make it stop!"

Hanna shifted in the rubble and his eyes opened slowly. They lit upon the girl and widened in panic. The redhead leapt to his feet, crouched low, and concentrated. Cerulean energy boiled out from underneath his boots, sparks shooting off into the air, and then he jumped.

It was like lightning firing towards the sky, a blue streak that shot off towards the girl hovering in the air. Hanna slammed into the girl and they were both moving so fast it was almost impossible to tell where they had gone.

The Ahimsa agent watched them fly through the air, moving erratically, the girl's screams filling the air and mixing with the hum of Hanna's bracers as they struggled. As they fought his eyes wandered to the floor, to the splinters of wood and broken glass, to the wallets, purses, and other random objects that had been left behind by people in their rush for the door.

And then his eyes fell upon the gun. It was a fairly standard pistol, most likely illegally owned by some Undesirable or another, but in that moment it hardly mattered.

He didn't know what was going on. He did know, however, that Hanna was in trouble, and he had to do something. So when he glanced up and saw the two flying for the nearest, miraculously unshattered window in streaks of blue and black, saw the redhead's back arching and ready to take the blow of soon to be broken glass, he knew what he had to do.

The pistol flared to life as he held the object out with practiced ease, mahogany eyes narrowing with concentration as he aimed.

"Hanna! Look out!" Lamont screamed and there were the sounds of him trying to scramble through the rubble, trying to reach the Ahimsa agent before the man could pull the trigger.

He didn't get there fast enough. The shot rang out in a burst of blinding blue, streaking past the tangled mess that was Hanna and the creature to connect solidly with the window. The window, already weakened by various cracks, shattered on impact, the sound of breaking glass almost like a song. Mere seconds after this, Hanna and the beast shot through the window frame and into the night.

There were a few moments of silence, save for the hum from Hanna's bracers and a few more shrieks and cries from the creature. Then came the sound of an explosion, deafening, the light a blinding mixture of black and blue that cast shadows throughout the bar. In that instant the very air seemed alive and charged with magic, the energy seeming to bring every cell in the Ahimsa agent's body alive for but a moment. There was a scream, one last, agonized cry, then silence before a terrible, final sort of _'crunch'_ from outside.

The Ahimsa agent didn't waste a moment. He immediately sprinted across the room, leaping across fallen tables and chairs to get outside and see what had happened. His mind raced as he rushed down the stairs. Had Hanna been close when the blast of... whatever had happened? Was he alright? Was the creature really so powerful? Should he have aimed for the _thing_ instead?

Lamont was still dodging through the rubble, snapping angrily through into the earpiece,

"No, Worth, I _don't_ know what the fuck just happened so if you would kindly shut the hell up! No! Damn it, Worth, I don't even know if the stupid fucker is still _alive_!"

His companion barely heard this rant, as the agent was too focused on getting to Hanna. He finally came to the doorway and skidded to a stop, eyes widening as he took in the sight before him. The surrounding area was actually relatively fine. Apparently the explosion of energy had gone off high in the air, leaving the already rundown buildings rather unscathed. The road was a bit less fortunate, however.

The asphalt in front of _Down the Rabbit Hole_ hadn't been in great condition to begin with, but there was now a great crater in the very center of it. Bits of rock and dirt tumbled as the customers who had been at the bar were now crowding around it, coughing as dust and smoke began to slow disperse from the area. People were murmuring amongst themselves, their voices a low hum as onlookers peered out from windows and alleyways, and somewhere in the distance a car alarm was sounding.

But what was most important was the sight of the creature laying at the center of the crater. She lay there, golden eyes wide as she gazed up at the sky, small chest heaving as she gasped for breath like a fish out of water. Her arms and legs lay haphazardly around her like broken matchsticks, her black hair fanning out from her head and sticking to the black goop that leaked from it like some sort of hellish form of a halo.

"Ah... _aaaahhh_..."

Hanna was a few feet away, shaking, crawling on all fours across the cracked pavement. Blood was running from numerous cuts across his person, sparks shot out of his bracers at random moments, and his blue eyes were wide. He was making his way towards the girl. He reached the edge of the crater and rolled down the side, skidding across the rubble until he stopped beside the girl, leaning over her.

"Hey, are you..." The redhead stopped and swallowed his words, "Can you hear me?" His voice was soft, but the Ahimsa agent could still catch it, just as he could hear the creature's response.

The girl swallowed thickly, then gave a weak nod. She reached out with a shaking hand and clutched Hanna's arm with a surprising amount of strength, "Why... why did this happen?" She choked out. She then gave a harsh, terrible cough, her entire body shuddering as she spat black goo across her front and across the redhead's shirt. "I don't understand... _why_? They took Larden... why did they take him? I-I don't..." She gave a low whimper, eyes squeezing shut. "They took Larden... they took _everything_... from me, from you... why?"

Hanna's expression seemed to crumple and, tentatively, he slid his arms underneath the girl and lifted her off the ground, letting her head rest on his lap, "I don't know. I wish I did. I don't know why I worked and you didn't and I'm sorry. I'm _so_ sorry."

The redhead squeezed his eyes shut for a moment and when he opened them again, looking down at the thing in his arms, they were dark with pain and sadness, "I know the Ahimsa guys and the government and...and everything have done a lot. I know a lot of bad things have happened." He tried to smile but it wasn't quite his usual brilliant one, "And all we can really do right now is make friends and...I dunno, try to move past it all."

The creature in his arms took a deep, shuddering breath. Her tiny hand moved to the redhead's and she gripped it tightly, smearing black across Hanna's pale skin. She was fading quickly now. "E-easy for you to say... you got a name, at least. I don't understand w-why you were so special..." She heaved violently, then gave another terrible cough that became a weak laugh. "I guess it doesn't matter anymore..."

Gold met electric blue and the girl swallowed, the tears coming to her eyes thick and black, like oil. "Is moving on... possible?"

"'Course it is." Hanna murmured, tightening his fingers around the girl's hand, still trying to smile, "You find friends and you do stupid things together and you laugh it all off and it's all okay." His voice sounded strained, almost choked, "And...and it's okay if you get hurt 'cause there's someone back home to patch you up again. And then everything's alright, you know?" Hanna's hands were shaking now, even as he pulled the girl closer, almost into a hug.

The girl blinked in surprise as she was pulled closer. "That... that doesn't sound so bad..." She trailed off, then took another weak breath. Her body gave a final shudder, like the last tremors of an earthquake. "H-hey mister... someday... you let me know it works, okay?"

"Yeah..." Hanna said, swallowing thickly, "I promise I will."

That was all it took. The girl gave a smile as she finally went limp in Hanna's arms. "Thanks.." She murmured, the final word a whisper on the last of her breath.

Then she was gone.

Hanna stared down at the girl in his arms for a moment or two and then squeezed his eyes shut, hunched his shoulders, and pulled the lifeless body closer, the black goop still oozing out over his arms and fingers.

The Ahimsa agent watched all this from the doorway, the murmur of the crowd and the car alarm down the street seeming to fade away as he watched the exchange. It had been hellish and strange, but something about it had kept him from interfering. The moment seemed to have passed though, so with a shake of the head he forced himself through the crowd.

"Hanna!" he called out over the murmurs, wincing as someone elbowed him in the side. Finally he reached the crater though, and he knelt down next to the redhead, brow furrowing. "Hanna..." he said again, his voice more gentle now. After another moment he reached out and placed a hand on the rebel's shoulder. "Are you all right?"

The redhead slowly raised his head and looked up at the man. His blue eyes were dark and filled with hurt, blood and black ooze was caked across his face, and he couldn't seem to stop shaking.

But he smiled at the Ahimsa agent and said in a tight voice, "Don't worry about me, Milo, I'm just fine."

His companion blinked in surprise as their eyes met. He then shook his head and wordlessly took the redhead's hand, moving to help him to his feet. Hanna's words were an obvious lie, those eyes and that fake smile such a stark contrast to the one he'd gotten used to over the past few days. It was reminiscent of those eyes he'd seen when Conrad had been turned, and the Ahimsa agent was coming to realize one thing.

He really didn't like to see Hanna like that.

* * *

The clean-up for the whole mess had been an interesting affair. The crowd had been quickly dispersed thanks to several helpful individuals and the wounded were gathered up. There was a question as to who was going to help them, but that was quickly answered by Worth swearing as he came down the road, Conrad and Veser in tow and weighed down with a multitude of bags. The creature's body was moved rather easily, and amongst all the chaos the Ahimsa agent had to wonder just why he'd heard Worth's swearing before any sort of police sirens.

Toni had smirked at his unspoken question. "We're in the slums. Do you really think there isn't _some_ sort of network to make sure your kind doesn't get involved in this stuff?"

He had to admit he felt grateful for that. After everything he'd seen, the last thing he wanted was to see his coworkers swarming the colorful crowd and dragging them all away.

The Ahimsa agent let out a sigh as he leaned back on a nearby bench. Toni had herded him and Hanna there within a few minutes of the redhead being moved from the center of it all, offering gentle insistences that Hanna needed to rest and promising that her and Lamont would handle speaking to the owner of the bar.

"This isn't the first time _Down the Rabbit Hole_ has ended up in shambles, after all," she'd said, and then she was gone.

So he and Hanna had sat and waited, the redhead remaining uncharacteristically silent for once. The Ahimsa agent wasn't sure what to do or say. Hanna being like this seemed impossibly strange, and in comparison to all that had happened, words seemed useless. So he kept quiet, and in a strange way he got the feeling his silence was appreciated.

Of course, things couldn't stay quiet forever, and so it was broken when Veser came wandering up. "Christ Hanna, does something have to happen _every_ time you go out?" The half-selkie asked as he stomped up, faded green sneakers dragging in the dirt. "Seriously, it's supposed to be _me_ that causes the explosions, not you."

Hanna blinked up at him and then let a shaky grin waver across his face, "Haha...yyyyeeeaahhh, sorry 'bout that, Ves." The redhead ran a hand through his messy hair with a sigh, "But, hey, at least we're all still alive and everything, right? If Traveon hadn't been here, that window would have cut me to shreds!" He nudged the Ahimsa agent in the side with his elbow, that brilliant grin coming back almost full force.

Veser blinked in confusion, looking to the agent. "Wha? What did you even do? Weren't you in _handcuffs_?"

The man in question seemed equally confused. "I hardly did anything, it was really all you. All I did was shoot the window out."

"What, no way!" Hanna argued, bouncing in his seat, "You totally save my hide! You're a _hero_!"

"Since when was any Ahimsa dog your hero, Hanna?" Lamont grumbled as he approached, hands in his pockets and looking a bit ruffled.

"Aw, come on Lamont, you saw that shot he made," Toni grinned as she came up beside him, transformed back to normal. "I think Hanna's right, we have a regular cowboy on our hands here."

"That so?" Veser gave a grin and punched the Ahimsa agent in the arm. "Well, if you're that good of a shot, nice job! I'll beat you next time, though!"

"Who says there's gonna _be_ a next time?" Worth's voice came out in a growl as he made his way toward the group, hands in his pockets. Smeared with blood and bits of black goo, it was clear he hadn't had the smoothest of nights. "You're _damn_ lucky I don't feel like owing more shit to that manager, you little bastard. You know I hate making fucking house calls." He came to a stop, then glanced behind him and scowled. "Oi! Get the fuck over here already, Clarissa! Hanna looks like shit! Christ, you're a terrible assistant!"

"I'm not your fucking assistant!" Conrad snarled as he stomped towards them, dragging one of the bags behind him, "I didn't even want to come...! You people just drag me all over the place!" He threw the bag at Worth's feet, "And I am _not_ picking it up again!" As if to prove his point, he crossed his arms over his chest with a huff.

Hanna smiled at him, chuckling a little.

"Oh boo fucking hoo. You were gonna spend the whole evening fucking sulking anyway, I was doin' you a favor," Worth grunted as he opened the bag, then pulled out some sort of strip. "Care t' explain what happened?" He asked almost conversationally as he began to dab at one of the gashes on Hanna's head, which was already beginning to scab over.

"Oh well," Hanna gave a half-hearted shrug, "You know..." He trailed off and looked at Worth in a pointed sort of way.

Worth watched him for a moment, his jaw clenching as he fell silent. Then he shook his head. "_Aside_ from that, dumbass," he muttered as he continued to clean the dirt and black gunk from the wounds.

"Aside from that Merc totally _saved my life_!" Hanna cried, "It was epic! You should have seen it, Worth! It was amazing!" Hanna mimed holding a gun in his hands and squinted one eye, aiming up into the air, "He was all "ptchoo, ptchoo" with the gun and the window shattered all over the place! Hahaha!" Hanna dropped his hands, "I would have been cut to ribbons if it wasn't for him!"

"That so?" The blond raised a brow as he looked to the Ahimsa agent. "And how'd your, ah, _hostage_ end up getting himself a fuckin' gun? Wasn't he supposed to be handcuffed?"

Hanna shrunk back a little bit and pretended to be very interested in the cracks on the bench.

Lamont sighed, "Well, maybe someone just dropped a gun. Besides," The black haired man smiled a little, "He _did_ save Hanna. I saw it happen."

"It's true," Toni nodded and grinned. "He's a regular ace."

The doctor raised a brow as he looked to the Ahimsa agent, whom shrugged. "I... had to do something," Hanna's companion finally said. "It just seemed like the right thing to do."

"The right, _awesome_ thing to do. Man, I wish I had been here!" Veser huffed, folding his arms.

"It was the most awesome, most epic, most heroic thing _ever_!" Hanna cried, throwing his arms up in the air wildly and almost smacking Worth in the face. Then he gasped and looked around at the Ahimsa agent, "I just had a great idea! Tron should _join us_! He can be a member of We-Love-Peace too!"

"What?" The Ahimsa agent blinked, looking confused.

Worth cursed loudly and shoved Hanna's arm back down. "Hold still, Goddamnit!" He snarled as he jabbed violently at one of the redhead's many scrapes. "And how d'ya know that's a good idea? For the record, kid, he's a fucking agent."

"You know, I'm starting to think he isn't," Toni put in as she rested her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow as she observed the agent. "Let's face it Worth, he's put up with all the crap _you've_ given him without so much as a complaint."

"Seriously," Veser grunted. "He helped with the fucking _bathroom_. He's a halfway decent dude."

"Hold on one second." Lamont cut in, brow furrowed, "I know he saved your skin, Hanna, but he's from _Ahimsa_." He put a strange emphasis on the word, looking tense and worried, "He's an agent of the government, not just some homeless Undesirable you picked up off the street."

"Yeah, and any _other_ agent would have tried to run off or something by now. Face it, he's a decent guy," Toni huffed as she looked to Lamont and glared, blue lips pursing.

Veser nodded in agreement. "Yeah, give him a break man. And hey, _Hanna_ listens to him sometimes. You know that's a miracle and a half right there~!" He smirked as he elbowed Hanna lightly in the side.

"What?" Hanna looked confused, "What's that supposed to mean? I listen to other people." He shook off the wonderment, "Anyway, It's three against one, Lamont! Majority rules!" Hanna beamed at Lamont and the dark haired man sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It's almost pointless to argue you with." Lamont muttered, "I may as well argue with a wall."

Worth gave a snort as he finally tied off the last of Hanna's injuries. "You've got that right. An' if it's majority rules, my vote counts for _ten_ an' you're fucked." He declared, giving a grunt as he rose to his feet again.

"But Wooooooorrrtttthhhh," Hanna whined, swinging himself off the bench and giving the doctor his best pleading puppy face, "He's a good guy, really! Please, let him join!"

The puppy face was truly Hanna's most powerful weapon. It was enough to bring grown men to their knees with its power, none could resist those ridiculously huge blue eyes and come out unscathed.

Except for Worth, who was quite immune.

"Tch," The blond wrinkled his nose and took a step back. "Fuck no. Good guy or not, 's another mouth to feed. We can't jus' keep picking losers off the street like this, dumbass," he grumbled as he reached into his coat pocket for his cigarettes.

Toni gave a sigh. "Oh, come on Worth. You've seen him in action, he's-"

"I know what he is." Worth's tone was blunt as he finally looked to the Ahimsa agent. The man in question had stood in silence the entire time everyone was debating, simply looking rather baffled. After a moment of silence the doctor rolled his eyes. "'S late, why the fuck are you all standin' around here anyway? Time to get the fuck home." He grunted as he jerked a thumb in the direction of the factory.

Veser blinked. "What? Hey, we didn't-"

"I _said_ get the fuck home!" The doctor growled out as he turned to glare at Veser, his long fingers clenching around the already abused pack of cigarettes in his hands. "'S late, 's been a long day and I'm tired. Go home."

"Fine by me." Conrad scowled, "Carry your shit back yourself." He kicked Worth's bag and stomped off. Lamont chuckled and trailed after him.

The doctor blinked in surprise as the bag was kicked, then gave a snort as he reached up to rake his fingers through his hair. "Fair enough. Well, Sharkboy, looks like Lavagirl left the carry-out t' _you_ today," he drawled as he looked to Veser.

"What!" The half-selkie sputtered. "Fuck no, I'm not your Goddamn caddy!"

"You are unless you wanna be stuck in the factory for the next five weeks," Worth grunted as he pointed to the bag. "Now _go_."

Green eyes looked from the doctor to the bag. Finally Veser muttered a curse under his breath and scooped the bag up, grumbling all the while.

Toni gave a laugh. "You're such a jerk, Worth," she said, shaking her head as she watched the teenager stomp off.

"Eh, whatever works," The doctor shrugged.

"Fair enough. Don't be too hard on the new guy." With that and a dazzling smile, Toni was following the gang home.

Hanna looked between Worth and the Ahimsa agent, "Don't hurt him, 'k Worth. He saved my life. It's not fair if you hurt him." And then he walked off, his stride lacking some of his usual bounce.

The blond watched them go, then turned to the Ahimsa agent, who'd been left standing alone with him. The two stood in silence as Worth fished into the packet of cigarettes and pulled out a slightly bent one, then lit it. Finally, after taking a long drag, dark eyes met mahogany. "So," Worth spoke. "What're ya gonna do?"

"Huh?" His companion blinked in confusion. From what he had seen of Worth, he had half expected to be yelled at. He wasn't sure _what_ he was going to be yelled at for, but it would have made sense. Either he would be yelled at or possibly stabbed. To be spoken to in such relatively calm tone, well, that was odd.

Then again, he supposed he should have learned by now that nothing about these people was what he would expect.

Worth rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously you're free. 'S not like we have another pair of handcuffs to put you in and Hanna's fucking awful at keeping a hostage anyway. Normally I'd say that means we should get rid of you, but..." He let out a sigh as he flicked ash to the cracked pavement. "They're right. 'S clear you're not like the others, an' I'm pretty sure the kid is a bit too attached to get rid o' you now. Besides, an ex-Ahimsa agent could be real fucking useful. So..."

The doctor trailed off as he reached into his pocket. After fishing around for a moment he pulled out something blue and glowing, then placed it in the Ahimsa agent's hands. The man in question blinked, eyes going to his badge. It actually looked fine, albeit covered with more lint than he was used to.

"Surprised?" Worth gave a snort as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "The tracking chip is the only thing I disarmed, and I'm sure you can get tha' fixed when you go back."

"Go back?" His companion repeated, the words feeling strange on his lips.

The blond nodded. "Obviously this ain't exactly normal procedure, but..." Here he trailed off for a minute and gave a grunt as he looked to the pavement. "It's fucking stupid, but you _have_ technically proven yourself. You can go back. Obviously you can't fuckin' talk about what you've seen here, but you can go back. Or, alternatively, you can stay here like the kid suggested."

He glanced up to see those eyes staring at him and Worth gave a sigh. "I ain't gonna lie. This whole thing is kind of a shitty deal. We're broke constantly and that little brat is a fucking whirlwind that you'll have t' deal with on a daily basis. There's a huge fuckin' risk, seeing how the whole damn council of Mitra wants our heads, and joinin' us puts you on that list. We probably can't do this shit forever. But..." Here he grinned, his smile some strange mixture of awful and a rogue-ish sort of honesty. "Well, it's fun, ain't it?"

With those words the doctor gave another shrug. "Anyway, I can't expect you to choose this. It's rough, it's dangerous, and if you do it, you can't go home again. This is your last chance. You can stick to your gayass nine to five job. You can go back to whatever shitty fancyass apartment you have, your wife or family or whatever-the-fuck you have waiting back there. I won't stop you. Or.. well, y'know."

The Ahimsa agent simply stood there as he took this all in, eyes wide as the words hit him. Over the past few days he had honestly forgotten about his job and everything that it entailed. That badge in his hands had brought him back, reminded him of things like the single cousin he corresponded with through mail, his responsibility to return to work, his coworkers, his apartment, the entire life he'd left behind.

Worth let out a sigh as he blew smoke into the air, eyes going to the sky. After a few moments of silence he turned and began to walk away. "Right, well, that's all I got. 'S your decision. Later."

And then the dark-haired man was alone. He stood there in silence as Worth's words washed over him, as the memories hit him and the gravity of the decision that lay before him hung in the air like a true, physical weight. The whole world seemed to vanish as he stood on the pavement, cars passing by in a blur on the disgusting streets of the slums.

Really, when he thought about this rationally, there was no contest. He'd seen enough of this whole mess over the past few days to know that this was a bad idea. It wasn't safe and it went against every move he'd ever made in his life to avoid drawing attention. Every sense he'd gained that had kept him from sticking out, it was screaming at him, pointing out that he knew what happened to Undesirables and the last thing he wanted was to become one of them. Every memory he'd had up to the past three days was screaming that these people were terrorists, they were murderers and cheaters and terrible people, and he had to end this. Every bit of him that was logical was pointing out all the little irresponsible things this boiled down to, like the fact that these people were starving and barely thriving, the fact that the factory they lived in was a death trap, the fact that this whole thing was a mess and it could only end in disaster.

And yet as he glanced ahead to watch the group, all that didn't seem to matter. He watched them all as they stood on the corner at the end of the block, seemingly waiting for a traffic light but of course he knew better because there was no way that light worked anymore. He watched as Veser made a catcall at some girl down the road and Toni proceeded to smack him on the arm, saw Worth make some comment that triggered laughter from Lamont and a scowl from Conrad.

He saw Hanna looking back at him with those bright blue eyes and suddenly it all didn't seem to matter.

He took his badge and threw it as hard as he could onto the street. In a clatter of technology the thing gave a crack, the screen flickering as it hit the pavement. It lay there for a moment, blue and glowing, before a booted foot came down to smash the thing with an audible _'crunch'_.

This task done, the agent made to catch up with the group, his black trenchcoat flaring out behind him as he jogged.

Hanna danced on the spot as the former agent caught up with them, wearing that familiar grin of his, and gave a whooping cry of victory, laughing as he did so, "Hahaha! You joined! Yes! We got a new member! Whoo-hooo!"

"Oh whoopie." Conrad scoffed, voice dripping in sarcasm as he hunched his shoulders, "Another victim of Mr. Cross. Everyone party."

"Hell yeah!" Veser agreed as he punched a fist into the air. "Fresh meat!"

Toni gave a laugh. "You make it sound so threatening. It's not _that_ bad of a job."

"Sometimes I wonder," Worth muttered as he chewed on the end of his cigarette.

The new member gave a small laugh at this as he watched Hanna dance. "I'm sure I'll get the chance to regret it in due time," he said dryly.

"Damn straight," The doctor snorted. "What made up your mind for ya, if you don't mind me asking? Don't you have a family or something."

He received a shake of the head in response as the man put his hands in his pockets. "I..." He trailed off as he considered these words. When he thought back to the life he'd just officially dropped, to the empty apartment and the coworkers who never remembered his name, to a life where the only thing to look forward to were distant letters... well, there was really no contest.

"There wasn't anything for me to go back to, that's all," he finally said, a smile coming to his face.

"But now you'll have something!" Hanna cried as he paused beside the ex-agent. He was so excited he kept bouncing in place even when he came to a stop. "'Cause as soon as we get back, you'll get your Honorary Carpet Square!"

Worth gave a groan at this. "Christ, don't tell me you're still keeping up that gayass tradition," he muttered as he began to walk down the street, the fur on his collar ruffling in the breeze.

Veser rolled his eyes. "Of course he is, he keeps asking me if I still have mine. Which I _don't_. Why the fuck would you give me one with such a girlyass pattern anyway?" He grumbled as he punched Hanna in the arm.

"Maybe because it suits you?" Toni snickered, only to receive a glare from the half-selkie.

"Alright, no fighting in the street, guys." Lamont said, "Let's hurry up and get home; we don't want to be out here after dark right now."

"Come on, Flynn!" Hanna grabbed the ex-Ahimsa agent's arm and started tugging at him, "Let's go! This is gonna be so much fun, you don't even know!" And he proceeded to drag the man down the street, rambling on about all the amazing things they could do.

"Hey, hey!" Worth snapped behind them. "Slow the fuck down! 'Ey, agent guy, control your fucking kid!"

The call went ignored as the ex-agent jogged to keep up with Hanna, looking rather confused. After a moment, however, his smile returned. Sure, he had no idea what Hanna was up to and he was sure Worth would come up with something to yell at them about later. For the moment, however, as Veser gave a laugh and tried to catch up and Toni shouted at him for slapping her butt on the way, it really didn't matter.

All that mattered at that moment was the realization that these people were _real_. Their words and actions were honest and open, the relationships they shared not bogged down with questions of things like whether or not friendship would give them a leg up on the competition. Their shouts and laughter rang through the air hours after what would have been considered curfew, the dust and grime of the streets coating old sneakers and boots. The flickering remnants of old city lights run on electricity cast a strange glow in the dark, still not enough to obscure stars in the sky that he'd never been able to see in the inner circle.

And in that instant those memories of the inner circle seemed to flee. The last remnants of his world lay shattered on the blacktop behind them, as if Eli the Ahimsa agent had died and been left behind in those scraps of metal and last flickers of glowing blue.

The laughter surrounded him and the night air filled him as he took a deep breath mid-jog, reveling in the one fact that did matter.

He was alive.

* * *

He was supposed to be finishing up his paperwork, but paperwork was so dull. What self-respecting genius sat at their desk all day and did paperwork, anyway? It was such a waste of time. He could be doing amazing things to change the future of Varuna, but instead he was stuck at his desk with his stupid paperwork.

The chair creaked as he spun it in a lazy circle, watching the room spin by. Hardly anything happened in this little cubby hole of an office. When he was just a regular, low-class mook, he'd had to sit in front of those awful holoscreens and watch read-out after read-out after read-out. And it had been utter torture. So he'd slimed his way up to the top and made it in with the higher ups, thinking he'd finally get in on the action.

But no. He simply got swamped with paperwork.

There was the occasional routine experiment, the check-ups, the data-processing and tests but they became so _monotonous_ after a while that they were no better than the mound of papers waiting for his signature.

What he wanted was the good old days. The days when there had been _real_ experiments going on. The days when waiting for the test results had made him anxious and excited. The days when picking up a scalpel or playing with unstable, high-energy particles would have given him goosebumps.

Instead, there was paperwork.

Drop dead boring paperwork.

And nothing exciting was ever going to happen. Not again. Nothing like before.

And of course, it was at that moment that the world seemed determined to prove him wrong. There was a soft hum as the sliding metal door that separated his office from the rest of the labs slid away, revealing a wide-eyed man in a white lab coat. He was clutching at several print outs with pale, shaking hands. "D-Dr. Ellis, sir!" The man sputtered as he rushed to his boss' desk. "You're not going to believe this!"

"Alright, what is it this time?" Ellis pushed himself up and brushed imaginary dust off his coat, not bothering to hide how bored he was, "Did someone drink the last cup of coffee. Because, damn it, if I have to pull another all nighter without coffee someone's going to have hell to pay."

"N-no, sir," The other scientist shook his head as he held out the readouts. "J-just look! You remember the project, don't you?"

That caught his interest, "The project? What about it?" He snatched the read-outs from the other man and scanned them quickly, "Well, well, would you look at that," He was grinning now and it was almost sickeningly eager, "It seems thirteen and fourteen had a little run in. How fortunate for us."

"Indeed," the other scientist murmured, smiling a bit to see his superior's reaction had been positive. "Should I alert the Ahimsa? I mean, if we follow the signal, thirteen should—"

"Slow down there, soldier." Ellis cut the other man off, tapping a finger on the papers, "Remember we're _scientists_. Where's the fun unless we sit and observe for a while?"

His employee blinked in confusion. "But... sir, are you certain? You've seen more than enough reports of what subject thirteen has done. Leaving such a thing free… isn't that dangerous?"

Ellis scoffed, waving a hand through the air to dismiss his companion's words, "Oh please, watching never hurt anyone. Besides," His grin widened, fingers clenching tightly across the papers with excitement, "I'm not about to let him slip away, not before I get a good, long look at what he can do. Now go keep an eye on things, I have work to get done."

"Yes sir." The other scientist gave a nod before turning and walking away, muttering under his breath. "Didn't look like you were working to me…"

Ellis either didn't hear him or completely ignored him because he didn't give a response. As soon as the door closed, he clenched his fingers around the papers in his hands, looking at them almost hungrily. "I'm not about to let you slip away until I can see what you can do." He breathed and then fell back into his chair, sending it spinning once more.

"I think things are finally starting to get interesting around here."


	7. Interlude  Toni

_Another one written completely by Digi. A look into Toni's life… _

**INTERLUDE – TONI**

Toni Ipres had never been the type to play it on the safe side.

Really, she felt she couldn't be blamed. Life in Varuna was difficult enough if you were anything but ordinary, and she was just that. Her mixed heritage had given her her soft brown skin and silken black hair that had set her apart from the get-go, and her urge to roll around in the dirt with the boys drew plenty of strange looks. She had always been one of the odd ones in school who laughed at the anti-Undesirable trash that was spoonfed to her daily in school, who couldn't help but think the creatures that were considered so very damned seemed far more appealing than the Prime Minister that she was expected to essentially worship. Her parents had been rather confused at her oddities, but they had already been pushing things with their interracial marriage and thus they'd let her be. This combined with her love of art and her strange energy had always set her apart, and as such she almost couldn't help but feel that the day she'd first sprouted fangs and fur had been more of a manifestation of what lay within than anything truly horrible.

But of course, that didn't mean her condition didn't make things difficult. When it had all started, she had quickly dismissed the idea of turning herself in to the Ahimsa and getting registered. She knew well what such a life entailed, being forced into the slums and forever tracked, branded like an animal, unable to buy anything, unable to get a job, unable to _live_.

To give herself up would have been to walk willingly into a cage, and she would not have that.

And so she hid. She hid everything, called in sick every full moon, kept as far away from people as possible so as to avoid revealing secrets. She kept it all inside and ignored the wolf as it ate away at her, fought off urges that tore her apart from within. She hid and it ate away at her as she turned her own body into a cage, watched passively as her own kind were rounded up like animals on the news. Bit by bit the days ticked by in agony, and as it all passed she began to realize that it simply wasn't going to work. She could not avoid being caged because to live in Varuna was to _be_ caged, and she couldn't stand it.

So she decided to stop pretending.

The movement for Undesirable equality, the fight against oppression and for life, it was small, but it was certainly there. It was largely young people, people like her, young adults who grew up in society as outcasts who questioned. They were small but they existed, and Toni was more than glad to join the fight. So she joined in on the protests, she made signs and rallied with the few people who would. She wore her brand as a rebel and an "Undesirable loving hippie" with pride. She made clubs at school and ignored the mocking jeers and stares, merely took every denial and put down from her high school principle and teachers who tried to shut her down as another reason to fight. Above all else, she spoke out.

Some would argue that this was a bad idea. In fact, those that knew her secret _did_ insist this was a bad idea. Her parents were concerned and though they supported her individuality, they had expressed their concern. After all, it was dangerous for her to even be living and going to school in the middle circle, let alone be drawing attention by doing things like protests and branding herself as she was, but she didn't care.

She was done playing things on the safe side.

It was after high school that she started singing. Before this she'd occasionally participated in talent shows, but it had occurred to her that signs and protests were not enough. So she sang, put on a show and spoke through music, and that's when she really began to draw attention.

She started off in small bars in her sector of the middle circle, took opportunities given to her by a few family members who were willing to support her. At first it was simply members of her circle of friends who visited, friends who knew her inside and out and clapped and cheered and insisted she had talent. But soon she was drawing more of a crowd, people who thought like her coming from different sectors just to hear her sing, and even some who didn't entirely agree. Bit by bit her name spread by word of mouth, her voice spread in the whispers of others. She could never have been on the radio, as the Council controlled what went on there far too closely, but word of mouth was good enough for her.

She supposed it shouldn't have come as a surprise that it was too good to last.

She did this for several years, simply living off of her minimum wage job in a local cafe and singing and protesting in her off time. It all culminated on the night where she was slated to perform at one of the most popular restaurants in her town. So she and her band had come and set up, the time had rolled along and the performance went without a hitch... and then the Ahimsa appeared with a warrant for her arrest.

Almost instantly, her life shattered around her. The restaurant fell into chaos the moment her true identity was revealed, tables filled with food clattering to the floor. Her band was rounded up an instant, forced into handcuffs and carried away. She barely escaped with her life, transforming in an instant as her drummer urged her to run.

And so she had, vanishing in a streak of blue fur into the night. She would later learn that her bassist had actually sold her out, the rest of the band sacrificed for the one who the arrest had been warranted for. She would later discover that her parents had been ambushed in the middle of the night, their names and their positions as an artist and a businessman wiped from the records as if they had never existed. At first she'd felt impossibly guilty about this. She wanted desperately to rescue them, to save her parents, but quickly found this to be a fruitless expedition that would likely only ruin their sacrifice. So what did that leave her with?

Well, she had to keep fighting, of course.

So she continued singing. She escaped to the slums and she sang there, helped where she could. Sometimes she sung alone, sometimes she found a guitarist or two for a few weeks, though each partnership was as fleeting as the places she found to sleep at night. Sometimes it was miserable and she had nothing to eat, but this did nothing to stop her. She kept singing, kept fighting, refused to give up regardless of what she was dealt.

And then one day fate approached her under the guise of Hanna Falk Cross.

He visited during one of her many street performances and declared himself to be a huge fan, said he was twenty-one when he appeared to be around fourteen. The redhead had given her a handshake with the sort of strength that hadn't been visible on his thin frame, the oddness of his wide smile only rivaled by the strange metal bracers on his arms and legs. He had shook her hand, told her that her voice was beautiful, and then cheerily declared that he was the leader of "The League of Paranormal Freedom", that said league was looking for members and he would love it if she would join.

Suffice to say, Toni had been mildly baffled.

Her first impulse was to say no. After all, this guy looked like no more than a little kid and she was well aware the resistance, or what little there was, was not exactly terribly organized. Sure there was a small network for transporting goods into and out of the city, a small protection network and connections here and there, but overall it was a mess. When she added in the fact that this kid really didn't look like much, and though the feeling she got from his presence and his scent was somewhat odd, she was still unsure.

She never got the chance to say no, however, as at that moment the Ahimsa had come. Raids on the slums were known to happen on occasion, and she was well aware that since her name was decently spread, her street performances were a fairly solid target. So she'd run, ducking into alleyways and leaping over trash cans, booted feet skidding across cracked pavement. She had ran and ran and of course this was an everyday sort of thing so it shouldn't have been that big of a deal, but she supposed it made sense that nothing could last forever. Thus, before she knew it she found herself cornered, gasping for breath with her heart thudding in her chest, the taste of sweat on her lips as she turned to face her attackers.

And then came a sound like that of a jet engine.

He came in a burst of glowing blue light, barreling down the alleyway to slam into the Ahimsa agents. There was a series of thuds and yelps as the blue blur slammed the attackers aside... and then unceremoniously crashed into her.

Toni had let out a yelp as the two of them finally collided with a brick wall in a mess of flailing limbs and glowing energy. Then came a groan from the redhead she'd just met as he rose from it all, clutching at his head and moaning about how someone named Worth was going to kill him for breaking his bracers. Blue eyes then proceeded to glance around and seemed to comprehend what had just transpired, as the redhead proceeded to look to her, grin, and ask if she was okay.

For a moment all the werewolf could do was blink and sputter, demanding to know just what had transpired. And of course Hanna had simply laughed it off and said something about magic and how he was just glad that he got there before she'd been captured and oh she'd been annoyed because he hadn't really answered much of anything but she had to admit she was intrigued.

"So will you join?"

The question had come out of nowhere and Toni had blinked in confusion as her eyes met his and she considered it. She had to admit, where before she had wanted to say no, it was clear Hanna was not exactly what one would call incapable. A bit of a mess, but not incapable. And while the organization was still questionable, she would admit the whole being on her own thing wasn't what it used to be. Her luck was starting to run out.

So she'd smiled and said "On one condition, Mr. Cross."

"Name it!" Hanna had exclaimed, his face lighting up as if he were a kid at Christmas.

Toni had blinked at his enthusiasm before her own smile widened. She had to admit the smile was a bit odd and certainly judging from the chaos around here, it was clear the redhead wasn't exactly what she would call conventional or safe, but that was okay.

"Never try to save my life again."

She'd never been the type to play it safe anyway.


	8. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

"Christ, what a night."

The words came out in a groan as Worth flopped down into his aged office chair, one greasy hand reaching up to cover his eyes. The rusted wheels squeaked in protest as he rolled back slightly, the sound echoing through the concrete basement room, but he would still take this over the sounds of the impromptu 'party' Hanna had started up the moment the group had arrived home.

"We have to celebrate, we have a new member!" The redhead had declared, and that had been all the prompting the group had needed. Poor Lamont found himself forced to break out whatever chips and snack food he'd gathered recently, and rounds of terrible singing, fights over who had won the latest round of _Nazi Zombies_ and an ill-advised game of Twister on a faded mat had commenced.

In retrospect, he supposed breaking out his alcohol stash and the runes Hanna had given him had probably been a poor idea, but well, someone had to liven up the party after all.

But it had gone on for too long, and by the time they'd all realized what time it was, it had taken far too much yelling from Worth to convince everyone to go to bed. It was finally done though, and the doctor was glad to finally be back in his office, alone save for his headache and the roaches.

It really was amazing how much Hanna's company had given him a growing appreciation for peace and quiet.

The door screeching open ruined the moment as Lamont pushed his way in. He'd taken the party in stride, though he did tell Hanna off for gorging himself on the snacks and kindly reminding him that everyone else needed to eat too.

But now that the partying was over, he had a bone to pick, "Worth, I don't like where this is going."

Worth scowled as he allowed his hand to drop to his side and spun his chair to face his friend. "Funny, I was 'bout to say the same thing. Fuck off, I have a headache and your ugly mug is already makin' it worse."

"Damn it, Worth, I'm serious!" Lamont stopped in front of the man's desk, frowning, "I don't like that Ahimsa agent here. First that _thing_ comes out of nowhere and now we've got a man from the government living in our home. Don't you think that's just a little bit coincidental?"

The doctor snorted as he grabbed his coat from the back of the chair and began fishing around in the pockets for his pack of cigarettes, "Sure, if we were in a gayass action movie or a novel or some bullshit like that. Don't be such a paranoid dumbass."

"I have the _right_ to be paranoid!" Lamont shot back, slamming his hands down on the top of the desk and leaning in closer so that he could glare at Worth, "Look, you and I both know how fucked up the government is. You know what sort of things they do to people they don't like. And you know that if that Ahimsa dog is here for the reason I think he is...then we're all fucking screwed."

Worth blinked at the man across the desk for a moment. He then scowled. "Of course I fuckin' know all that. Do you think I forgot? I'm well aware of our bag of fucking problems. I still don't see what your fuckin' issue is." The blond shook his head as he finally found his cigarettes and pulled them out, grumbling all the while.

"Christ, will you fucking _listen_ to me!" Lamont shouted. His hand flashed out and smacked the cigarette box out of Worth's hand. Then he reached across the desk and grabbed the front of the blond man's shirt, dragging him out of the chair so they were face to face, "Listen to me, asshole! They might not kill you and they might not kill _him_ but they will certainly kill the rest of us! I don't care that you disabled the badge and he threw it away! He could still find a way to tell them and that's the last thing we need right now!" He shook Worth as if to emphasize his point, "Do you understand! They'd take everything and they would _destroy it_! There'd be nothing left and we'd be _dead_!"

The blond blinked back at him, his expression one of vague surprise as he was quite suddenly lifted up by the collar. "Ya really think I don't know that?" Dark eyes narrowed and a pale hand reached up to grab Lamont's wrist, tightening dangerously in spite of the fact that Worth was a toothpick in comparison to the burly man. "News flash, you fucking _prick_, I was there too. I know what they'll do, of_ course_ I fucking know. I saw that thing just like you did, I know what it means. But what the hell do you want me to do, huh? Tell Hanna we have to shoot his new dog? If ya really want that, you can do it yourself."

"That's not what I'm saying!" Lamont hissed, tightening his grip on Worth's shirt, "Damn it, Luce, use that fucking lump of gray matter two feet above your ass and _think_ for once in your life! I know you act like you don't care about the rest of us or this hole we live in but I don't like how Hanna's always following that agent around! It's only going to get him into trouble!"

His friend blinked back at him at this comment. Then Worth gave a smirk. "Gee 'Mont, I didn't know you were gonna take Hanna bein' someone else's problem so terribly," he sneered. "Ain't this what they call 'empty nest syndrome'? 'Cause it's all right, we _can_ have another."

"You stupid fuck!" Lamont snarled, punching Worth in the jaw and sending him reeling back. "Can't you at least _pretend_ you're worried for one damn second! If Hanna follows that guy into trouble and we're not around to get him out, then the Council's going to-!"

He was cut off by Worth's fist quite suddenly connecting with his face. "The council won't touch him!" The blond snapped, his voice ringing through the darkness as he slammed his palms down on the desk. Then came silence, his previous exclaimation seeming to hang in the air as the junk on the desktop clattered. Finally he let out a sigh, his shoulders slumping as he leaned against the piece of furniture. For an instant he seemed impossibly tired and old, far beyond what a thirty-year old man should have looked.

"I know... fuck, I know. But what d'ya want me to do, 'Mont? This damn fight has been goin' on for years. We don't have time to be picky about potential help. Besides, the kid adores him... they all do. You said so yourself, he saved Hanna's life. Am I supposed to ignore that?"

Lamont stared back at his friend almost hopelessly, fists clenched at his sides, "No, I...I don't know, Worth. I just don't want Hanna to get mixed up in all of that again. _I_ don't want to get mixed up in all of it again."

"He won't," the doctor said simply as he finally raised his head, catching Lamont's stare. After a moment the familiar smirk crept onto his face, confident and terrible and just a bit dangerous. "C'mon, what's t' problem? We've been kicking their sorry asses for years and keeping tha' brat outta trouble nearly as long. This Ahimsa guy could actually be real useful in helping with that. _We_ sure as hell can't keep an eye on him forever. Besides, the guy might have some skills we could use or whatever."

Lamont sighed as he finally reached up to touch the newly forming bruise on his cheek. "I know, I know. And I know there's nothing I can do about him now but," His gaze hardened defensively as he stuffed his hands into his pockets, "I'm not going to trust him just because everyone's alright with him. If something happens to Hanna, he's the first one I'm coming down on." He glared at Worth, as though daring the man to tell him to do otherwise.

The blond gave a snort as he flopped down in his office chair again, bringing up a hand to wipe away at the blood that had been leaking from his split lip. "'Course not. If he does anything we'll bash his skull in, that's practically a given. 'M just saying give him a chance. The position we're in now don't exactly give us many options."

Lamont stood in silence for a few moments, staring at Worth, trying to decide if this was the right thing to do or not. Finally, he let out a defeated sigh and shrugged his shoulders, "Alright, fine. You win this round. We'll give him a chance. He can play guard dog for Hanna for a while; Hanna seems to listen to him anyway. But are you _you_ okay with this?"

"Wouldn't have said 'yes' if I wasn't, now would I?" The doctor drawled as he leaned over and snatched his pack of cigarettes from the floor. "If you're n' gettin' anywhere where ya are, the thing to do is get something different. An' he's different, that's for sure." As he spoke he finally pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it, then took a long, deep drag. A grin came to his face as he looked to Lamont again.

"At least it'll be interesting, right?"

* * *

"I want pancakes!" Hanna slammed his fists onto the tabletop as he dropped into his seat at the kitchen table, grinning up at the ex-Ahimsa agent standing next to him, "You should totally make us pancakes, Conan! Pancakes are the _best_!"

After the rough day and the long night, anyone else would have been utterly drained the next morning, even after a good sleep. But Hanna Cross was somewhat renowned for bouncing back from some of the worst injuries. So a night spent partying was nothing compared to what he was used to.

And demanding pancakes from the man who had-until yesterday-been his hostage was just another sign that things were as normal as they were going to get in the resistance's home.

"Come on, pancakes!" Hanna cried again, hitting the table again with every word, "Pan-cakes! Pan-cakes!" He chanted, rattling the plates already set out on the table, "Pan-cakes! Pan-cakes! Pan-cakes!"

His companion shook his head, a small smile coming to his face as he wandered past the kitchen table toward the yellowed refrigerator. "All right, let me see what I can do." His low voice rumbled through the kitchen, the former agent's calm a stark contrast to the Hanna's exuberance. For someone who'd been up partying the night before, he'd still woken up at seven on the dot. His usual yoga routine had been mildly difficult in the confines of his room, which was still essentially a storage closet with a cot, but he'd managed and seemed to be doing rather well.

Veser, on the other hand, was not doing so well. "Christ Hanna, would you keep it down?" The half-selkie groaned as he made his way into the kitchen, clutching at his head. With his hair disheveled and his white sleeveless shirt and sweat pants in disarray, he looked like he'd just rolled out of bed.

"Ugh, why is everyone up? It's so fucking early," the nineteen year old continued as he plopped down on on his usual stool. None of chairs at the old, highly abused kitchen table seemed to match, but if anyone cared they didn't show it.

"It's not _that_ early!" Hanna argued back, "And besides, Bradford's making pancakes! When's the last time we had pancakes, Veser? It's gonna be awesome!"

The nineteen-year old blinked in surprise and perked up a bit. "Pancakes?" He repeated. "Do we even have the mix?"

"Now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure we do. The milk might be questionable though," Toni spoke up as she entered, yawning and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She then made her way toward the counter, apparently intent on getting some coffee started.

Mahogany eyes surveyed the interior of the fridge, taking in the sight of several metal canisters that were probably water or some other sort of liquid. There was also a carton of orange juice that appeared to have seen better days, a handful of apples, some wrinkled grapes and a meat drawer that he was honestly a bit scared to open. He spotted a half-empty jug of milk and pulled it out, giving it a light shake.

"Er... there seem to be chunks in this," the ex-agent observed, winkling his nose.

"Aw, that's okay!" Hanna waved a hand at the man, "We just pick the chunks out and Worth says it's okay as long as no one dies." He grinned innocently.

"Haha, you would believe him." Lamont muttered, running his fingers through his black hair as he strolled into the kitchen and flopped onto a chair, "Thanks for the wake up call, Hanna. Hearing pancakes echo through the building was a great alarm clock."

"I know, wasn't it?" Hanna laughed, "And now we get _pancakes_! Isn't that the most awesome thing ever?"

Lamont sighed and rolled his eyes, a little smile on his face, "Check around the bottom of the fridge," He said to the ex-Ahimsa agent, "I brought some new milk so it should be around there somewhere."

The taller man nodded and began digging through the fridge again, carefully edging past a carton of eggs that smelled only a bit off. As he did so he could hear Toni sighing in the background even as she began pouring coffee for herself, Lamont and Veser. Apparently it was already an accepted rule that Hanna was not supposed to have any. "Honestly Hanna, you really shouldn't listen to everything Worth tells you. You'll get yourself killed like that."

"He will, will he?" Worth drawled as he entered, cigarette smoke trailing behind him as he leaned against the doorframe. He already had a mug of coffee in hand, though where he'd got it and what was in it was probably a mystery best unsolved.

At his entrance the ex-Ahimsa agent turned around and held up the old milk jug, swirling a bit so the chunks sloshed inside. He quirked a brow as he looked to Worth, as if asking for an explanation.

"What?" the doctor scoffed. "A few chunks never hurt nobody! Jus' think of it as extra protein, you see how tiny the kid is! He needs it!"

"Yeah!" Hanna piped up, "And it's kinda like the cereal's already in the milk!"

"Oh dear Lord..." Lamont tried to keep the laughter from his voice as he hid his face behind his hands.

The Ahimsa agent merely shook his head as he began searching through the cabinets for mixing bowls, electing to do his best to ignore what was starting to become his standard reaction of vague horror to Hanna's life style.

Veser, unlike Lamont, failed to keep a straight face and ended up clutching at his stomach and cackling "Oh man that's _disgusting_!" He exclaimed as he smacked an open hand against the table.

"You're telling me," Toni sighed as she finally sat at the table. She slid the full mugs to their various owners before she put her face in her hands. "You people are ridiculous. Why do I live with you again?"

"Because you're the only one with something vaguely like a job," Lamont said with a smirk, taking the coffee and sipping it. "And without us, these poor lonely souls would starve to death."

"Hey, I have a job!" Veser exclaimed indignantly as he grabbed violently for the container of sugar on the table and banged the sides to try to get the granules to stop sticking together.

"You pickpocket, dumbass. Tha' hardly counts for anything beyond being the littlest delinquent, " Worth snapped as he walked up and lightly whacked Veser in the back of the head.

"Ow!" The half-selkie yelped as he clutched at the spot that had been hit. "Hey, shut up, at least I do something! What does Hanna do, huh?"

"Whoa, hey!" Hanna through his hands up in the air defensively, frowning at the half-selkie, "I'm a full-time member of the resistance! It's hard work!"

Worth gave a snort as he stepped back so he could lean against the wall. "'Course you are. You're useful _sometimes_, which is more than I can say for some people. Speaking of useless pieces of shit, where's Connie?"

"Suffering, you dickhead." Conrad spat from the doorway, "It's not my fault I'm stuck in this hell hole with you people." He stomped into the room, edged past Worth, and eased himself onto a chair, looking disgusted.

"Hey Conrad, guess what?" Hanna didn't seem to catch on to the fact that the vampire was not in the mood to deal with the young man's enthusiasm, "We get _pancakes_!"

"_You_ get pancakes." Conrad growled, crossing his arms in a sullen manner.

"Aw, boo hoo, the princess doesn't get his gayass comfort food. It's okay, I'm sure you can take it out when you go shoe shopping... oh wait, you can't do that anymore, I forgot," Worth sneered.

"Will you please shut up!" Conrad buried his face in his hands, pushing his glasses up, "All the fucking sunlight is giving me a headache and your pathetic excuse for an accent is not helping!"

The Ahimsa agent frowned as he poured the pancake mix into a heavily dented metal bowl. "I thought the windows of the factory are all tinted?"

Worth rolled his eyes. "They are, Fagula here is just a drama queen," he said as he flicked a bit of ash onto the floor and cheerily ignored the glare Toni shot him. "Anyway, shut t' fuck up over there, we have business to discuss."

"Another job? Really?" Hanna excitement got him bouncing up and down in a chair that looked far to abused to be taking the strain, "Oh, oh, can Tobias come? Oh, can he? It'd be so cool! We could be the awesome duo of awesome!" He paused in his bouncing and looked around questioningly at Worth, "What're we doing anyway?"

"Maybe if you _shut up_ for one damn second I'll tell you," Worth muttered as he folded his arms, eyes closing. "'S a pretty basic delivery job, nothin' special. There's a baby dragon in the inner circle and some lady wants it rescued. The only catch is this thing's apparently on the Inner City Ark."

"The Ark!" Toni sputtered, blue eyes widening. The coffee in her hand swirled, the grounds within floating to the top like sediment in a lake. "You mean that zoo for the upper class?"

"Oh man, awesome! I've never been there before!" Veser exclaimed, punching a fist in the air.

"I think you're missing the point, Water Boy." Lamont was suddenly all business, "The Ark is one of the most secure areas in the Inner City and that's not even pointing out that it's an _air ship_. Getting into that place is going to be half the job. Getting out alive with that dragon will be the other half."

"Oh cool a _dragon_!" Hanna cried, leaning forward in his seat, "I've never seen a dragon before! Can I-?"

"No, you can't keep it." Lamont cut him off, "Settle down, Hanna, and _listen_, this is important. The lady we're delivering to wants this dragon unharmed and very much alive. You're only going to rescue the dragon and _nothing else_. No heroics, no saving the day, no trying to get out every paranormal creature in the Ark. We can't afford that kind of attention. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" He looked pointedly at Hanna and Veser.

"Okay, fine..." Hanna grumbled, pouting a little as he slumped down in his seat.

"Crystal." Veser's sharp-toothed grin was possibly the most unconvincing thing in the world, but they'd have to work with it.

Worth scowled, but apparently decided to let the half-selkie's grin slide. "Right, well, here's the plan. You two," Here he gestured to Veser and Toni with burning end of his cigarette."Are gonna be sneaking into the control room of the ship. I want you t' locate whatever switch ya need to trigger to eliminate the security on this little ball of scaley fucking joy and disarm it. Use explosives or whatever-the-fuck you need."

"Awesome!" Again came a fist pump from Veser. "We're going to the zoo _and_ I finally get to do my actual job! Sheesh, you'd think as an explosives expert I'd get to do this more often."

"Just don't blow up a whole Goddamn block this time," Worth muttered. He then nodded to Toni. "You'll be the one sneaking through the air vents t' get the little bastard, since you're less likely to fuck it up."

Toni had to smirk at that. "Fair enough."

"So what do I get to do? I get to go, right?" Hanna asked eagerly, "Me and Morpheus can totally do some awesome stuff! Oh, can I help Veser blow stuff up?"

"Breathe, Hanna." Lamont said in an off-handed sort of way, "Worth'll get to you." He peered into his coffee, frowned, and flicked out what looked like a dead insect, "Whether your Ahimsa pet gets to go with you or not is up to the good doctor."

"Damn straight it's up to me," Worth growled as he squinted at his cigarette. Apparently he deemed it too low, as he popped it back into his mouth and immediately began fishing for another one. "You're goin' with Sharkboy, you're his bodyguard. As for your new friend..." the blond trailed off for a moment, then looked to the former agent and rose a brow. "Well, he's done a great job of it so far, so he's on Hanna Watch."

"Hanna Watch?" The ex-agent repeated, brow furrowing as he paused in his stirring of the pancake mix.

Worth gave a nod, dark eyes boring into mahogany. "Hanna Watch. I mean, the job kinda applies to everyone, but him in particular. You stick with the kid and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble, and if any of your old friends show up... well, you damn well had better be ready to put up a fight. You got that?"

The man in question met his gaze for a moment, then nodded. "Understood," he said, his tone momentarily clipped as his shoulders squared. The message in his body language was clear, he understood fully what Worth was implying and if it came down to it and the Ahimsa showed up, he would fulfill his new job as necessary.

They weren't his co-workers anymore.

"Right, you guys just go off and do your rebel shit." Conrad grumbled, slouched in his seat, "Have fun. See you around. Try not to kill anyone else."

"Hey Worth, what's Connie gonna do?" Hanna asked, grabbing the vampire's arm and tugging at him. Conrad scowled and tried to shake the young man off but once Hanna had a hold on someone, it was hard to make him let go, "Can he be a lookout? We could use a lookout, right?"

The doctor blinked at Hanna's comment, then looked to the vampire in question as he pulled out his second cigarette. "Actually, that's a good idea. We could use a new intelligence guy. Veser's absolute shit at it and we really need our friendly neighborhood furry out there... not t' mention ya certainly look pasty enough to be a little tech fag." A terrible grin came to his face, rather reminiscent of a shark that had cornered its prey. "Whatdya say, _Connie_?"

Conrad glared at the doctor, "Why should I do _anything_ for you people? You've done nothing but ruin my life."

"Well, mainly because you're living here. So you can either help us out," Lamont put in casually, "Or, alternatively, we can kick you out on the street and leave you to fend for yourself." He smiled in a pleasant sort of way.

Conrad looked absolutely livid.

"You black-mailing son of a..." He ground out between his teeth, "Get the fuck off!" He shook his arm, disentangling Hanna from where the redhead was clinging to him, "You!" He pointed at Hanna, who was now draped over his chair, looking a little hurt, "Stay away from me! Don't _touch_ me! And you," He rounded on Worth, "Stop calling me names! I'll do your stupid-ass surveillance job or whatever the hell it is as long as you all leave me the fuck alone!" He fell back into his chair with a huff, looking sullen. After a moment, he grumbled out, "'Sides, I dunno where else I could get food... so I guess I'm stuck you losers..."

There was a beat of silence as they all stared at the vampire, all looking somewhat shocked aside from Worth's standard smirk. Then Toni cracked a small smile. "So... does that mean you're one of us now?"

Conrad stared at her for a second and then shouted, "_Fuck_ no!"

"Congratulations, Connie! You're one of us!" Hanna cried, grabbing the vampire's hand and pumping it up and down, "Welcome to The Brotherhood of Awesome!"

Toni outright laughed at this. "I'm not so sure that name works, Hanna. We're not all guys, you know," she said, reaching out to lightly prod the redhead in the shoulder.

Hanna frowned for a second and then said, "Alright, sorry Toni. But Conrad still gets an Honorary Carpet Square!" And he shot out of his chair and dashed out of the room to get Conrad his carpet square.

Veser watched him leave, then shook his head as he tipped his chair back and leaned on the back legs. "Geez, how can he be so energetic in the morning?"

"Fuck if I know," Worth grunted. "But the bastard left 'fore I could explain how the fuck you're even getting into the Ark."

"I was about to ask that, actually," Hanna's partner spoke up as he inspected the stove. He had been told that it was gas and the front burner was the only one in working order, but he had to admit he was still mildly nervous. The last thing he wanted to do was blow the whole factory sky high over pancakes. "I mean, the inner circle is blocked off unless you have ID, and I'm certain you don't. So how do you plan on getting in?"

Lamont laughed and then leaned forward, grinning in a smugly, "Ohhoho, you have no idea what kind of network goes on in the slums. There are tunnels, Mr. Ex-Ahimsa. Tunnels that stretch from here to the inner circle and back; we've been darting around right under your noses and you've been none the wiser."

The ex-agent turned to stare at him. He blinked, then looked to Veser, whom smirked. After another moment, he gave a nod. "Oh... well... ah, okay then," he said slowly, apparently still reeling a bit from this revelation. Apparently the resistance had quite a bit going for it after all.

"You guys will be taking those tunnels into the inner circle. The Ark is supposed to be refueling at a specific point at one this afternoon, so your asses had better be there to sneak on board," Worth stated as he finally tossed his cigarette stub into the sink (much to Toni's chagrin) and lit the new one. "Once you get on there you've got about an hour to get the dragon and get out of there. If you take too much time you'll be stuck up there until the Ark docks again."

Veser snorted as he let his chair fall forward, a light_'thud'_ echoing through the kitchen as the legs hit the aged linoulum. "I don't see why. We could always hijack one of the guest pods. I mean, visitors have to get up to the Ark when it's in the air somehow, right?"

Worth scowled. "Sure, if you wanna draw the attention of the whole Goddamn city. Take my advice, keep your heads down and do shit like you're _supposed_ to for once," he stated, jabbing a greasy finger in the half-selkie's direction. "The last thing I wanna deal wit' is _another_ undead mouth t' feed, you got me?"

"Hey!" The half-selkie exclaimed. "Look, it was _Hanna_ who got a guy killed, not me! And besides, it has it's plus sides! This means I never have to do that gayass surveillance job ever again!"

At that moment, Hanna came running back into the kitchen with a terrifying piece of carpet clutched in his arms. He skidded to a halt and thrust it into Conrad's lap, "There you go! Your Honorary Carpet Square!"

Conrad recoiled from the thing that had been dumped on him. It was the disgusting color of dried blood with speckles of mustard yellow and neon pink in it. The edges were frayed and there seemed to be an odd, dark colored stain on one corner.

Toni let out a sigh from her seat and took a lip of her cooling coffee. "Of course, the tradition still lives," she muttered.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this thing?" Conrad sputtered, picking it up with two fingers and easing it onto the table so he didn't have to touch it anymore.

"Anything you want!" Hanna cried, throwing his hands dramatically in the air, "Use it as a pillow, hang it on your wall, use as doormat, or a towel, or-!"

"Or strangle yourself with it, fuck if I care. Just shut the fuck up, all of you," Worth snapped, waving a hand in the air. "We've got shit to do and not a lot of time t' do it in, so you all need to get a move on. 'Mont, take Connie to the surveillance room or whatever and everyone else needs to start getting ready. Go on, go!" He called out, jerking his thumb toward the door.

"But fffffoooooooodddddd!" Hanna whined, planting himself on his chair and grabbing the edge of the table as though afraid he might be dragged off, "We haven't even eaten yet, Worth! I _need_ my pancakes, you don't even know!"

"Yeah, seriously, you can't just make us skip breakfast! We've got until one, we'll be fine!" Veser snapped.

Toni nodded in agreement. "If you don't let us get breakfast, I think you'll have a mutiny on your hands Worth."

The doctor gave a sigh, fingers going up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Fine, whatever, have your fucking pancakes. Just hurry the fuck up!"

"I'm cooking as fast I can," the ex-Ahimsa agent replied calmly as he poured the first batch onto a heated pan, the sounds and smells of sizzling pancake batter filling the kitchen.

"Good," Worth grumbled, then turned to Lamont. "Why're you waiting around, fatass? You're gonna need to teach Confail here the ropes, I'd suggest you get on that."

"I want to eat some pancakes too." Lamont said innocently.

Worth just glared at him.

"Hey, wait a second, I gotta eat too!" Conrad put in, "You can't tell me what to do you stupid-."

Lamont noticed the dangerous look Worth was giving the vampire and grabbed the back of the vampire's shirt, hauling him out of his seat and nudging him towards the door,

"Alright, time to go. We'll feed you later if you're a good boy. Come on, come on. move along."

"Wh-what're you doing! Hey!" Conrad protested the whole time Lamont shoved him out the door and towards the basement.

Worth watched them go, then turned toward the rest of the group. "Right, you guys hurry up. I want you out the door in about an hour. Don't do anything stupid like die, got me?" With those words he shoved his hands into his pockets and strode out the door, his coat flaring out behind him.

Toni rolled her eyes as she propped her head in her hands. "It's always good to know he cares," she muttered dryly.

The ex-Ahimsa agent ignored this, instead looking to Hanna and raising a brow. "Are you sure you're going to be okay with this? After last night, I mean?"

"What? Oh no, don't worry about it!" Hanna smiled, not looking directly at the man as he waved the worry away, "I'll be fine! Everything's gonna go great! Without a single hitch! Are those pancakes ready yet?"

"Why would you say that?" Veser groaned, allowing his head to drop to the table with a crash. "Ugh, now you've jinxed us, you ass!"

Hanna's partner shook his head and smiled as he returned to the pancakes, ignoring the argument that was starting up behind him. Such chaos was to be expected in the factory at this hour, and really he wasn't surprised that the looming threat of a mission did nothing to deter that. He had to admit he was hoping food would calm things somewhat, at least for a little while. He was starting to come to terms with the fact that calm moments were few and far between, but that didn't stop him from hoping.

After all, judging by what was coming up today, they were going to need all the calm they could get.

* * *

Getting ready for the mission ended up being just as much of an adventure as the actual mission.

The entrance to the tunnels they were going to use turned out to be connected directly to the basement, so that hadn't been an issue. But getting Hanna to finish his pancakes and actually start getting packed, well, that had been something else entirely. Then had come the whole mess with Veser realizing several of his explosives were missing, which meant an interesting adventure with them all scouring the factory in search of them. They were finally discovered within the cushions of The Couch, something which Hanna declared was completely reasonable all things considered. After that had come the whole mess with Toni trying to get her earpiece to sync up with the computer. After roughly twenty minutes of fighting with it Lamont finally just gave her a new one, grumbling a bit about just how costly said earpieces were.

Finally, however, they were ready to go, and with a cheery wave from Hanna and a grumbled response from Conrad the group was off.

The tunnels themselves were actually fairly clean and spacious, made from solid concrete and occasionally criss-crossing with the elaborate maze of sewer tunnels. Certainly there were rats, grime, and a rather interesting smell that would have made Conrad die inside, but really that wasn't all that abnormal when compared with the rest of the slums. And so the walk began, the group guided by the light from Hanna's bracers, the occasional lamp on the wall and flickers of sunlight from up above. The trip took roughly four hours, the silence punctuated by Hanna's cheery voice the whole way there.

"Ooh, hey, did you guys see that rat over there?" Hanna pointed at a rodent as it vanished into the shadows, "Haha, it kinda looked like Doc Worth!" His laughter echoed down the tunnel, "Oh man, that reminds me of a story when it was just me and Worth and Lamont! We were cleaning up the factory 'cause we'd just moved in and we found this rat nest and all the rats got really pissed and it was so funny because Worth started swearing and kicking them around everywhere and one landed on Lamont and went down his shirt and it was _so_ hilarious! And then-!"

_"Hanna!"_ Conrad's voice snapped through the earpiece, _"Shut up! You're only supposed to use this channel if it's _important_!"_

"But this _is_ important...!" Hanna argued, frowning a little in the gloom.

_"No, Hanna,"_ Conrad growled through a sudden wave of static, _"It is not. Now shut up and keep moving."_

This was the standard for the next four hours. Hanna would ramble, the others would occasionally respond and Conrad would complain over the channel. By the time they finally reached the exit, the group was quite ready to get things going if only to get Hanna to shut up. And so Toni scaled the ladder up to the opening first, sliding aside what appeared to be a sewer cover and squinting against the afternoon sunlight. After a moment she glanced down and nodded. "Right, we're good. Hurry," she called down.

"Awright! Let's do this thing!" Hanna burst past the others, grabbed the ladder, and hauled himself up with lightning speed, grinning like a maniac.

The ex-Ahimsa agent watched him go, then looked to Veser and quirked a brow. "Is he always like this?"

"You have no idea, man," Veser muttered as he pushed past the agent for the ladder and made his way up it.

His companion watched him climb for a moment, then shrugged and followed. He had to admit, Hanna's enthusiasm was mildly concerning. Given how their past adventures had gone, he certainly knew Hanna was capable, but he hoped this wouldn't end like the last two adventures had. The ex-agent blinked against the sunlight when he finally emerged, wincing as he waited for his eyes to adjust. The instant they did, he nearly mimicked Hanna's gasp of amazement.

The Ark stood before them, a towering machine of shining silver. The design was a bit like a large half moon, the primary curve pointing toward the heavens and largely made up of what appeared to be clear, sparkling glass. Great wings spread out from the sides, actually given a sleek, almost feathered appearance. The words _Great Varuna Ark_ shimmered on the sides, the only real marking on the otherwise perfectly sleek ship. Several ropes were tethered to the sides, some sort of green light emanating from them as they appeared to be powering it. The belly of the ship was currently opened and men could be seen pushing boxes onto the ship with hovering trolleys, bored expressions on their faces. He had heard of the ark and seen it flying in the sky in passing, but he had never taken the chance to visit or see it up close. He'd had opportunities, but the mentions of things like dragons within had never sat well with him, so he'd never gone. Seeing it now, he had to admit the actual ship was quite a wonder.

"Eli!" Toni's voice came out in a hissed whisper and the ex-Ahimsa agent blinked before slinking after her. The group had gathered behind a stack of boxes and were now watching the orderly loading of the ship, each apparently wondering what to do next.

"All right," The werewolf murmured as she put a finger to her earpiece. "Conrad says we're supposed to hide in one of the boxes. So everyone pick a box, okay?"

"Sneaking into boxes, really?" Veser snorted. "This is the future, you'd think we'd have something a bit more elegant."

_"Just shut up and get in a box!"_ Conrad snapped, _"And make sure you get in one labeled with 'Port Side Storage'; that'll take you closest to where the dragon is. I'll be tapped into the security cameras and I have you all tracked on the computer, so I'll be able to see where you end up."_

"Got it," The ex-Ahimsa agent nodded, then gestured to the nearby boxes. "Well, I suppose we should get going then."

"Oh my gosh, this is gonna be so cool!" Hanna's voice could barely be called a whisper, "We'll be like secret agents! Oh man, we're gonna be like _Solid Snake_! This is so awesome!"

Veser had to snicker at this. "Hell yeah, it's totally-"

"Guys!" Toni cut them off. "Just focus and get in a box!"

"All right, all right, jeez," Veser rolled his eyes as he pulled open one box with a less than subtle _rip_. "Though I gotta say, I love when you get all pushy. It's kind of hot."

Toni rolled her eyes as she pulled open her own box and tossed aside some bags of something before climbing in. "Just keep quiet," she sighed as she pulled the box closed over her head.

"You got it," The half-selkie called back before vanishing into his own box.

"See you guys in the Ark!" Hanna laughed and he skipped off to fid a box to squeeze into, vanishing amongst the stacked up crates.

The ex-Ahimsa agent watched the redhead vanish, then pulled off the top of his own box. After setting everything aside he crawled in, wincing a bit as he realized that at the height of roughly six feet, he really was not meant for this. Regardless, he had to find a way, so he forced himself to squeeze in, his knees pulled up to the point where they were beside his head. After struggling and failing to find a comfortable position he finally sat there with his gloved hands pressed against the cardboard sides, simply waiting.

Hanna's voice suddenly crackled over the earpiece, open to all channels, _"Hey, hey, guys! isn't this awesome! Hahaha! It's like-!"_ There was a clatter and a burst of static, _"Ow! It's like when I first lived with Worth and Lamont and the rooms weren't cleaned out and I was kinda scared of them so I didn't want to go near them! So Worth gave me this big, giant box to sleep in and he-!"_

_"HANNA, SHUT THE FUCK UP!"_ Everyone but the ex-agent snarled over the channel.

After this there was only silence, so the ex-agent assumed Hanna had obeyed everyone's demand. He sat in the dark and waited for what seemed like many minutes, the only sounds coming from the working men outside. Finally his box gave a jerk and there came a groan as he felt himself being lifted in the air.

"_Christ_," He heard the worker's voice, muffled through the cardboard. "The hell are they feeding these critters these days!"

The complaining continued as the ex-Ahimsa agent was jostled for several seconds, then was set down with a bone-shaking _thud_. Then came the hum of what was most likely the hover trolly, the sliver of light filtering through the slit at the top of the box flickering slightly before vanishing completely. Then came another grunt as he was presumably lifted and set aside, the conversation going on around him all the while.

"Man, I hate this job. We shouldn't even be feeding these bastards."

There came a laugh. "Isn't that animal cruelty?"

"Please, you know everything in section 4 hardly counts as animals. They're lower than that."

The ex-agent had to frown at bit at this comment, even as his knee connected with his jaw. He knew these comments were not uncommon, he'd lived with them for years, but hearing them so fresh after spending time in the slums simply reinforced for him just what he had been living with before.

He had definitely made the right decision.

Another laugh came from above, oblivious to Eli's musings and presence. "Of course, of course! But hey, whatever it takes to save up for that Lounge membership, right?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

The two voices filtered off with the click of what was most likely a door. The ex-agent was then left sitting in the dark for a few minutes, the sound of his breathing all he had for company. Then came Conrad over the channel.

_"Okay, you can get out now. Coast is clear or whatever the hell it is."_

The ex-Ahimsa agent reached up push his box lid aside and hoisted himself out of the box, his boots hardly making a sound as they touched the floor. He immediately stretched, wincing at the new twinge in his back. He was twenty-seven, he really should not have been hurting this much just from having to cram into a box.

"All right," Toni's voice came out in a sigh, echoing through the darkness of the storage area. Soft, dim light filtered from light panel lines along the edges, but aside from this and the shadowy forms of boxes, the room was featureless and empty. "Are we all here?" She asked as she stretched out her arms and glanced about.

"I'm here!" Veser piped up as he leaped out of his own box, sending packing peanuts scattering all over the floor. "Man, that was boring. I hope the way out involves more explosions," he grumbled as he picked one of the peanuts off of his hoodie.

"Wait," The ex-Ahimsa agent spoke up as he glanced around, mentally making a head count. Toni was stretching and Veser was beside him, grumbling, but that familiar blue glow he'd gotten so used to on the walk through the tunnels was missing.

Mahogony met cobalt and Toni's eyes widened as it seemed to finally click for her as well.

"Where's Hanna?"


	9. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

_"Okay, you can get out now."_ Conrad's voice came crackling over Hanna's earpiece, sounding bored and irritated at the same time, _"Coast is clear or whatever the hell it is."_

Hanna erupted out of the top of his box, sending the lid flying off wildly, and thrust his hands into the air, shouting, "FRRRREEEEEEEDOOOOOOOMMMM!" His cry echoed around the small storage chamber but no one responded. Hanna frowned and clambered out of the box,

"Guys? Hey, are you playing a joke on me? It's not funny you know." The redhead kicked a nearby box, "Veser? Toni? Where are you guys?" He gripped the lid and ripped it off, "Socrates, are you in here?" But the box was only filled with bubble wrap and what looked like fancy dishware.

Hanna straightened up and looked around at the storage room, "Where are you guys?"

He received no reply. His only company appeared to be stacks of boxes and the plain metal panels that made up the walls. A soft glow spread across the room from the light behind them, reflecting off of the mess of packing peanuts Hanna had made on the floor. There was no question about it.

He was alone.

* * *

"You _lost_ him!" Toni's voice echoed through the storage room, effectively destroying any attempt at stealth she'd been trying earlier. Manicured fingers shot out to grab the front of the former Ahimsa agent's shirt, blue eyes narrowed, lips pressed into a thin, angry line. "How could you lose him!"

"I..." The ex-agent sputtered, taken aback.

"And Worth gets mad at _me_!" Veser snorted, scowling at the ex-agent, "God, man, do you realize what you've _done_! You have seriously just unleashed a living spot of Hell upon this ship! We're all going to die."

At these words the werewolf rolled her eyes. "No, idiot, that's _you_. If Hanna blows anything up, at least it'll be an accident!"

As the two argued the ex-agent just stood there, seemingly momentarily frozen. Hanna had been his responsibility, it was somewhat baffling that the redhead had managed to get himself lost and throw things entirely out of whack within the first few minutes of the mission. "He must have taken the wrong box..." He muttered.

"Obviously!" Toni snapped, fist tightening on the dark-haired man's shirt. Her green eyes were livid, almost aflame with a terrifying mixture of anger and worry. "Why didn't you check what box he was getting into, huh? You're supposed to be his backup!"

Her unfortunate victim winced, feeling something within him sink. When he heard it put into words, he felt even worse. The werewolf's worry for their redheaded hero was nearly a tangible thing, channeled through her surprisingly powerful grip. All this did was add weight to that sinking feeling in his chest, reminding him of just how much he'd already failed. "I'm sorry," he muttered, his voice soft. After a moment he shook his head, forcing himself to stand up straight. "We'll find him, don't worry."

Now was not the the time to let such things get to him. They had to find Hanna.

Toni gazed up at him for a moment, then sighed and stepped back, rubbing her face. "No, I'm sorry. It's not your fault. There's nothing we can do about the Hanna factor when it comes to these things," she said. "All we can do now is try to find him and work out what to do from there." With those words she reached up and tapped at her earpiece. "Hanna? Hanna, are you there?"

An odd popping sort of noise came through the other end and Hanna's voice giggled, _"Yeah, I'm here. Where are you guys? Did you all get into the wrong boxes 'cause I ended up in a storage room but you weren't there."_ More popping and another wave of giggles, _"And I found bubblewrap!"_

"What, bubblewrap?" Veser sputtered, a hand to his own earpiece, "What the hell is wrong with you, man! We're on a mission here!" He paused for a second and then said, "You better save some of that for me."

Toni let out a groan at this, appearing to resist the urge to smack her forehead. "Focus, you two. Hanna, you got in the wrong box."

The popping noise stopped for a second, _"What, really? Are you sure you guys didn't get into the wrong boxes?"_

_"You're the one on the other side of the ship, dumbass."_ Conrad growled.

_"What, really? I am? Oooohhh, I thought it was weird that everything said 'Starboard' when you said 'Port'! Hahaha!"_ The popping noises resumed once more but they weren't quite enough to drown out Conrad's slew of curses.

Toni actually did smack her forehead again, the sound ringing through the air. "Okay. Obviously we're going to have to change plans again. Hanna can't exactly watch Veser's back if he's halfway across the Ark, but we still need to get this job done somehow. Someone needs to go get Hanna and someone needs to stick with Veser."

"I'll go find Hanna," The ex-Ahimsa agent said, nodding. "I'm the one who was supposed to watch him anyway. I'll get him and from there we'll work out what to do."

Toni nodded. "I hate to put you guys on any sort of stealth duty, but we don't really have a choice. You probably have more experience than Hanna, at least. Once you find him we'll work out who will get the dragon. I'll stay here and watch Veser's back."

Veser whistled, "Awright, that's how I like it." He grinned at Toni, "You scratch my back, baby, and I'll scratch yours, eh?"

His companion made a disgusted face and edged away from him. "Yeeeaah, no," she muttered before looking back to the ex-agent. "We'd better get moving. Who knows what sort of trouble Hanna can get into, you know?"

"Right." The dark-haired man was all business as he reached up to tap his earpiece. "Conrad, can you direct me to Hanna?"

_"Yeah, yeah, hold on..."_ Over the popping noise that was still coming through the earpieces, there the sound of a clicking keyboard and then Conrad snarled, _"Oh hell, that little idiot's wandering around the corridors! That fucking moron! Okay, take the first left out of here and then I'll direct you from there."_

"Got it. Hanna, _please_ try to stay put," The ex-agent muttered over the channel as he turned and made his way for the door, coat swishing behind him.

There was a series of loud pops and then Hanna's voice filtered through, _"Alright, alright, I'll wait for you, Alton."_

"You better hurry." Veser muttered into his earpiece, "I'll bet you he won't stay there too long. And make sure he doesn't pop all the bubblewrap!"

Toni rolled her eyes, then gave a light wave to the ex-agent. "Be careful and good luck!" She called after him.

The man in question nodded, then vanished out the door. Certainly, Toni's warning was a good one, though he doubted being careful would help much in this situation. He would gladly take the luck, though.

He was already starting to get the feeling he'd need all he could get.

* * *

Hanna was sitting on a broad piece of pipe in one of the service hallways, his feet dangling a good half foot above the floor as he swung them back and forth. The combination of his heels slamming into the pipe and creating a loud _'bong'_, the bubblewrap popping under his fingers, and him humming loudly made it the concept of "sneaking in" seem extremely pointless.

He looked up when he heard footsteps coming down the corridor and leaped off the pipe, racing down the hall with a grin on his face,

"Hey Carlos, you found me alright! Did you get into any..." Hanna skidded to a halt as he rounded a corner, his smile dropping away, and his last word coming out as a gasp, "Trouble..."

The man approaching down the hall was not his partner. Instead it was a somewhat burly man in a gray uniform, and the instant Hanna had come into view said man had skidded to a halt and gaped. "W-whoa! Who are you and what the hell are you doing here!" The man sputtered, grasping for the gun at his side. "This area is for personnel only!"

"Er, I..." Hanna took a wary step backwards, "Um, I got lost?" Well it wasn't a lie.

The guard scowled as he approached Hanna. "Look kid, there's giant _do not enter_ signs all over the place, I don't see how you-" He suddenly paused, squinting as he peered at Hanna's face. "'Ey... you're that Undesirable from the telescreens!" He exclaimed, eyes widening. "You're Hanna Cross!"

"So what if I am?" Hanna blurted out and then clapped his hands over his mouth, "Er, no, I'm not! You must have me confused with someone else! uh, I think I'll just find the rest of my group now! Bye!" And he turned to run. Unfortunately, he forgot he'd been sitting at a dead end and the only way to go was toward the guard, whom was readying his weapon.

Hanna was stuck.

The guard flashed a terrible grin as he took a step toward the redhead, a soft hum coming from the gun in his hands. "Y'know, there's a pretty damn big reward on your head. Good thing it doesn't matter if I bring you back dead or alive, huh?"

_'Bang!'_

Before the guard had a chance to shoot, there came a burst of blue light. The man let out a yelp as electricity sparked across his body, his limps twitching for a moment as his eyes rolled back into his head. Then he collapsed, a heavy _'thud'_ ringing through the air.

The instant he was down, the ex-Ahimsa agent came running around the corner. "Hanna, are you all right!" He asked as he placed his gun back into its holster, glancing over his partner to check any injuries.

Hanna stared at the guard and then looked up at his friend, eye wide. Then he shook himself and that brilliant smile came back, "Yeah, I'm fine. That was _amazing_ Domovio! You have the most epic timing, _ever_! Are you okay? No trouble finding me, right?"

The redhead's partner shook his head as he lightly nudged the guard with his foot. A groan revealed the man to be unconscious, so he returned his focus to Hanna. "Yes, I'm fine. I certainly can't say you were hard to find, I heard you from three hallways down," he muttered, trying to keep his voice down as he knelt down and picked up the guard's gun, adding it to the empty side of his holsters. He supposed he was at least grateful that Hanna had actually stayed put. "I have to admit, when I joined I was under the impression that you had a stronger sense of responsibility when it came to this sort of thing. Why didn't you check the outside of the box?"

Hanna stared at him for a second and the quickly looked away, fumbling with the bubblewrap, "Well, I dunno. It was kinda around where you guys were and-oh, hey, shouldn't we catch up to Toni and Veser? What if they need help?" He was smiling innocently, as though everything was going by without a single problem.

Mahogony eyes watched the redhead for a moment, then the ex-agent gave a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. He felt mildly frustrated. He knew Hanna could take care of himself, but something had him concerned anyway and it was bothering him. Hanna had a point, however. "I suppose you're right. We need to get moving anyway, that gunshot is going to draw some attention. Let's go."

With those words he reached up and tapped his earpiece. "Conrad? I have Hanna. Where should we go?"

_"God, Hanna do you just fuck up everything you touch...?"_ Conrad growled and he tapped at the keyboards some more, _"Go back the way you came but take a left through a door two corridors down. That takes you back to the main part of the ship and you can catch up with them there. You're welcome."_

The ex-agent gave a nod, though the vampire couldn't see it. "Thank you." With that he turned to Hanna and rose a brow. "Let's try and stick to the plan this time, shall we? Stay close to me."

"Ay, ay, Captain!" Hanna said loudly and saluted, "I'll stick to you like glue! Alright, let's go!" And he skipped ahead of the ex-agent anyway, chatting merrily about how awesome his friend had been in taking out the guard and how he hoped they had the chance to do some awesome teamwork moves together later.

His partner watched the redhead skip ahead, then gave a sigh as he followed. Hanna was still being far too loud. He was well aware that this was how the redhead worked, and as much as the agent within was screaming that this was a bad idea, what else could heed but follow along? It was clear that the job he'd been given was far bigger than he'd thought, but he was still glad to have it. Someone had to watch where Hanna was going, after all, since the redhead obviously had no plans to do so.

Though if Hanna could keep an eye open every once in awhile, he would have appreciated it.

* * *

She had to admit, a part of her lived for this.

Toni's heart thumped in her chest as she crept through the service hallways of the ark, her footsteps nearly silent even as her skirts swirled around her, adding a sense of grace to her fluid movements. She passed by guards and ducked just under the sights of cameras, and the whole time none of them had any idea the very Undesirables they hated were right under their noses.

"All right, Conrad," The werewolf whispered into her earpiece as she came to a fork in the hallway. "Now where do we go?"

_"Er, left-no, wait-you want to go right! Right!"_ The vampire sounded flustered, _"S-sorry, I just...I guess I'm just nervous about, oh, I dunno, participating in something highly illegal!"_

Veser rolled his eyes, "You're a fucking pansy. The worst vampire _ever_. Seriously, you're not even here, what do you have to whine about?"

Toni gave a snort as she sped down the hallway, green eyes darting this way and that as she watched for any guards. "He does have a point, you know. Besides, you do realize even if you _didn't_ do anything, you'd be arrested for being an Undesirable period, right?"

_"I...I know but I..."_ Conrad trailed off into incoherent grumblings that sounded like a low rumble of static coming through the earpieces. After a moment he said, _"Turn right up here. And then keep going straight. And tell Veser to keep up."_

Veser said in a high, mocking voice, "And tell Veser to keep up." He scoffed, "I'm keeping up just fine, faggot. I'd like to see you do better!"

His companion rolled her eyes. "He has a point, stop lagging behind. You'd think you'd be more excited about causing explosions," she muttered.

Veser chuckled, "Honey, I've got all the excitement I want rrriiiiiggghhhttt here. Watching your sweet ass."

Toni paused for a moment, her jaw dropping slightly. She then gave a growl, hands clenching into fists as she began to stomp ahead, the heels of her boots clicking against the floor. "Conrad, _please_ tell me the security room is up ahead. I swear if I have to hear one more bad pick-up line, the guards will be the least of a certain seamonkey's problems."

_"Don't worry,"_ Came Conrad's disgusted grumble, _"It's up here on the left."_

The werewolf nodded, though she was aware Conrad couldn't see it. Another couple of feet and a glance to the left revealed the door they were looking for, a simple gray panel that nearly blended in with the plain walls of the service hallways. Really, the only thing that made this door stick out in comparison to the others was the pair of guards standing on either side of the door in question.

"Very subtle," Toni muttered dryly, though she supposed she should be grateful that thus far Conrad had managed to steer them clear of such things. She had known this was inevitable, though, and that was where the next bit came in. "Veser, do you have those darts Worth made?" She whispered.

"Darts? Er, yeah, yeah, hold on." Veser leaned against the wall and started digging around in his the many pockets of his coat, checking one after another, "Erg, where'd those things-oh, there they are!" He pulled out a handful of thin metallic sticks that seemed to be glowing a faint greenish color. The half-selkie grinned as he held them up in the light, showing all of his dangerously sharp teeth, "This is going to be fun."

The werewolf couldn't help but smile at Veser's enthusiasm as she took several darts from him, then pulled a thin metal tube from the many folds of her skirts. "Not for them," she said grimly as she loaded the weapon, then pointed.

There was barely a noise. Merely a barely visible blur of green and a confused blink from one of the guards as he grabbed at his neck. Before the two could even begin to wonder what had happened, they were down and out.

This task done, Toni slunk to the door. She traced her fingers over it, finally tapping a barely visible panel. "Locked," she said simply.

"Out of the way, Hotstuff!" Veser stepped forward, pulling out a silver and neon blue half sphere, "I can blow this door out no problem!"

"Wait!" Toni hissed, her hand shooting out to grab the teenager's coat. Her expression was stern as she glared at him. "It's _one_ lock. A _small_ explosion this time, okay? If we're already in the air, I do _not_ want to go down with the ship."

The half-selkie rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, alright. You act like I have no idea what I'm doing." But he tucked the half sphere back into his coat and instead drew out a thin, black strip. He peeled a back off of it, pressed it against the door, and then leapt back, dragging Toni with him.

The adhesive bomb went off with a small bang that buckled the door inward and definitely cracked the lock open. Veser grinned at Toni, who was still holding onto him.

Toni wasted no time in leaping into action. She easily cleared the wreckage of the door, startling the unfortunate guard who had been watching the cameras.

"What the-!" The man was cut off by a high-heeled combat boot to the face, the force of the blow sending him crumpling against the wall.

The werewolf stood over him, brushing strands of blue hair out of her face as she studied his prone form. "All right, he's out," she declared as she glanced over her shoulder to Veser. "You get to that computer and get to work. Conrad should be able to tell you what you need to do. I'll tie this guy up."

"All right, Confag," Veser said as he stepped up to the control panel, gazing across the wide array of switches and buttons, "What am I doing here?"

_"Don't call me that!"_ Conrad snapped, _"Just give me a minute to find the instructions on this thing..."_

Veser tuned out the taping of the keyboard coming through his earpiece and looked up at the dozen or so holoscreens hanging on the wall above the control panel. His large green eyes narrowed.

"Toni... you'd better come look at this."

The blue-haired woman's brow furrowed as she glanced up from where she had been trying to figure out how to operate a certain ex-agent's newly repaired handcuffs. "What is it?" She asked as she got to her feet, following the half-selkie's gaze. The instant she did, her jaw dropped.

Really, when one considered a zoo, the first things that came to mind were the animals. Lions, tigers and bears, these things were expected. And really, technically society saw the creatures in the cages as similar animals to those creatures. It didn't make the sight any easier to swallow, however.

For she knew quite well that those glowing, battered wolves within the enclosure on the screen were hardly regular wolves. She understood the fanged child curled up in the corner of a fake cave, his skin bubbling slightly as he gazed out at passing guards with wild, starved eyes. She saw the mermaid draped across a rock, her hair limp and her tail beating pathetically in water that was far too shallow. She saw all this and oh how it hurt, because she understood and it was almost too much to think that people could walk by it all and see it as nothing more than an exhibit.

"…No," she murmured, clutching at the back of a now empty chair. "I'd heard the Ark had an Undesirable exhibit, but this is just…"

_"Okay,"_ Conrad's voice came back over the earpiece, _"There should be a panel of switches to your right all labeled with letters and numbers. The letters correspond to the section of the Ark and the numbers are the cages. You're looking for the switch labeled 'A312', that's the dragon's cage. Got that? Veser? Hey, are you listening to me?"_

Veser made a very strange noise, something between a curse and a growl, and clenched his fists at his sides. When he spoke again, it was in a hard, strained voice, "Conrad, tell me which button unlocks all the cages."

_"What! No way! You're supposed to get the dragon! Nothing else! Worth said-!"_

"Fuck what Worth said!" Veser snarled, slamming his fists on the control panel, anger burning fiercely in his eyes, "Just tell me which button it is!"

_"No! We're just supposed to do the job and get out!"_

"You're not even here!" The half-selkie roared, punching the console again, arms shaking, "You have no idea what we're looking at! You're not seeing what we're seeing! So stop whining like a fucking pansy and tell me which _goddamn button it is_!"

_"Shut up!"_ Conrad shouted, _"Toni, will you please talk some sense into him! I am not in the mood to deal with this!"_

Toni bit her lip, her expression thoughtful. Finally, she shook her head. "No, he's right. Our.. _my_ job is to help Undesirables. It always had been. We can't just save one and leave the rest, it's all or none of them."

_"I'm surrounded by insane people!"_ The vampire moaned, _"We can't do this! We don't have the man power! You'll just end up setting the whole fucking ship on us! You're all crazy!"_

"Shut _up_!" Veser bared all his teeth even though Conrad couldn't see him, "You're one of us too! If you don't help us then I'm shutting you off!"

_"No! Wait! Goddamn it! Don't you dare shut me out! Toni! Toni, listen to me! Listen, we _can't_ do this! You're just going to get yourselves killed! Don't! Do it!"_

"You're a fucking coward." Veser spat and reached up and flicked off his communicator.

Conrad's shout was almost audible through Toni's earpiece, _"Fuck you, then! Fuck! You! I hope you die you stupid, stupid selkie brat!"_

Toni visibly cringed, then reached for her earpiece. "Sorry Conrad," she muttered before switching it off. She then looked to Veser. "I sure hope you know what you're doing. Do you want my help?"

"No, I think I got this. I can just blow it...er..." The half-selkie trailed off, cringing. If he blew up one more thing, Worth would surely lock him in the factory for all eternity, "Yeah, no, it's okay. I got this, just...give me a second..."

The werewolf's brow furrowed as she leaned over him. "Er… are you sure you've got it? Because I figured if you've got it, maybe I should go find the others. I can certainly track them."

"I'm fine. Go find Hanna and Eli or whatever the hell his name is." Veser muttered, frowning at the console, "And you'd better hurry. I don't think that Ahimsa guy knows exactly what he's dealing with yet."

Toni nodded as she turned for the door. "Right. I'm actually surprised that by this point Hanna hasn't done anything-"

**"BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!"**

The entire room began to flash red as the shrill sound of an alarm echoed through the room. The werewolf's eyes widened and she stood there, watching as the red light reflected in the screens of the security cameras, barely registering the voice that echoed over the speakers.

_"Attention all personnel! An unidentified Undesirable has been spotted in the section 48B! The Ark is to go into lockdown mode immediately! Attention all personnel…"_

"…Goddamnit," Toni groaned, smacking herself in the forehead.

"That _idiot_...!" Veser sounded like he was trying to keep the laughter out of his voice, "Oh my gosh, that fucking moron!"

"You're telling me," The werewolf groaned as she rushed toward the door. "Hurry and get those cages open, then catch up, okay?"

"Oh, don't worry about me, Sweetstuff." Veser looked over his shoulder, grinning, "You just make sure your hot ass doesn't get fried, 'k?"

Toni rolled her eyes. "I will, but not for you," she muttered. With those words she was out the door and running down the hall, her footsteps echoing across polished metal.

"Damnit Hanna… why does this happen every time?"

The only answer came in the chaotic scream of the alarm.

* * *

He felt he was being fairly calm, all things considered.

The ex-Ahimsa agent's lungs were burning, his heart thudding in his ears and nearly drowning out the sound of his footsteps as he and Hanna barreled down the hallway. "I really don't understand how you're capable of this," he said conversationally, voice nearly lost amongst the shouts of the guards behind them.

"Capable of what?" Hanna responded innocently as they whipped around a corner. His red hair was matted in clumps and some of it even hung in his face, brown smears covered his face, arms, and legs, and there were several bite marks on his bracers and exposed skin, the ones of his fingers bleeding a little,"Where are we going, anyway? Hey Connie, where are we going?"

_"How the _fuck_ did you get yourself stuck in the monkey cage!"_ Conrad roared, _"First Veser and Toni and then I turn around and you're fucking everything up! What the hell, Hanna!"_

"He does make a point," the redhead's partner commented as he casually grabbed the back of Hanna's shirt and tugged him around the corner. "Considering the fact that I told you not to and the cage was surrounded by a forcefield…" He trailed off, quirking a brow as he looked to Hanna.

"But…but they just looked so sad!" Hanna argued, "I just had to give them a hug!"

_"Guys! Hey, wait!"_ Conrad was trying to speak over Hanna's somewhat pathetic excuse, _"Don't go that way, you're running into-!"_

Too late the ex-agent and the redhead turned another corner and found themselves face to face with at least two dozen guards, all with weapons loaded and aimed, ready to fire.

"Well crap." Hanna muttered.

The Ahimsa agent had to agree, his eyes narrowing as he tried to deduce some way out of this. There were most certainly guards back the way they had come, but they couldn't move forward either.

"Freeze!" One guard snapped. "Put your hands where I can see them! The Ahimsa are already on their way and will be here to deal with you Undesirable bastards!"

"Hanna. Go," The ex-agent said simply, ignoring the command.

"Go?" Hanna asked wonderingly and then his eyes brightened and he grinned, "Oooohhh, go. Right. But what about you, Antony?"

His partner very nearly smiled at this. "I can take care of myself. Just go."

"What the hell? I said hands up, you little bastard!" The guard who had spoken before said. He then blinked in surprise, eyes widening as he realized just who he was speaking to. "Hey! You're-"

But Hanna had already crouched low to the ground, blue energy coiling out of his heels. The grin on his face, lit as it was from below by the light, looked eerie, almost evil.

"Nice knowing you!" He said and then, with a blast of azure light, he was gone.

"Wait! Where'd he go!" The guards cried, looking around wildly for a second until one shouted wordlessly, pointing above them.

Hanna was soaring over the heads of the guards, energy flying from his feet, grinning down at the startled men below him. He was getting some pretty good hang time and before the guards realized what they were seeing, he had landed behind them and vanished in a blur of blue.

Unfortunately for the guards, their attention really should have been on the former agent. While all eyes were on a certain redhead, he'd drawn his gun in a swift motion and aimed at the main guard blocking his path. "You're all very bad at this, aren't you?" The ex-agent murmured.

Then came the shot. His aim was spot on and the guard in front of him dropped like a rock, the sparks nothing in comparison to the blinding trail left by Hanna. Two more dropped in quick succession before the ex-agent charged forward. He leaped over the fallen men and dove into a roll as he hit the ground, speeding past the feet of his confused and panicked enemies. His coat flared out behind him as he got back to his feet and charged after Hanna, dodging a hail of gun blasts as he rushed around the corner.

"Dude!" Hanna cried as they raced along the hall together, "That was so epic! Did you have a class in Ahimsa training for badass one-liners or something?"

This time Hanna's partner did smile. "That's classified."

Hanna couldn't help but laugh, "Aw, come on! You say that about everything! It's like your favorite word!"

"I've only said it twice..."

The two of them-the ex-agent and the most wanted Undesirable in Varuna-raced down the corridors, passing door after door, trying to follow Conrad's rather haphazard directions. But it was becoming difficult to find halls that were clear of guards and Conrad was beginning to panic; he couldn't contact Veser or Toni and now he was terrified that he was leading Hanna and the former Ahimsa agent to their deaths.

_"Go left! Left!"_ Conrad shouted into the communicator and Hanna led the turn around the corner. But as soon as he did, he dug his heels into the floor and skidded to a halt, turning back to run the other direction. His fingers flew to his earpiece as he said,

"Conrad, there were guards down there! Where do we go!"

_"R-right! I dunno! No, wait! There's guards that way too! Go straight! Quick! Just get out of there!"_

"We're _trying_!" Hanna cried, tugging on the ex-agent's sleeve to get him to follow, "Straight ahead! Let's go!"

His partner nodded, sweat beading on his forehead as he ran. The Ark really was ridiculously large and they had been running for some time. Certainly he could keep going if he had to, but he doubted they could keep avoiding guards like this. A fight was starting to look inevitable, and he wasn't sure he was ready for it.

So when they found themselves encountering a large gate that did wonders for halting their progress, the ex-agent couldn't say he was surprised. "Well," he said as he turned toward their approaching enemies. "I suppose we've run out of hallways to run through."

"Wwweeellll, if all else fails we could probably bust through them…!" Hanna said, holding up a hand and letting a small coil of energy pool there, "But it would probably break my bracers sssoooo…" He dropped his arm, energy vanishing, "Guess we're fighting our way out, huh? But, hey, at least we can finally pull off some epic awesome tag-team fight moves, right?"

Again came the smile, grim but accepting as the dark-haired man brought up his guns. "I suppose there's always that."

The lead guard couldn't help but smirk as he came forward. "Got nowhere to run now, huh? Now you're in for it, you little-"

"Eli!"

The guard was cut off as a man in his mid-twenties suddenly pushed to the front, his gray eyes wide as they met mahogany. "Whoa… Eli, it is you!" He exclaimed, a grin coming to his face even as he kept his gun trained on the other man's head.

The ex-agent's brow furrowed, his gun lowering slightly. "Renton," he replied, nodding on reflex.

"Aw man, I'm so glad to see you're alive! The last time we'd heard of you, we thought that some Undesirable had gotten you!" His former co-worker exclaimed, a wide grin coming to his face. His gun didn't waver.

"I…" Hanna's partner swallowed thickly, his adam's apple bobbing up and down in his throat, sweat from their desperate run sliding down his stubbled cheek. "No, I'm fine." It was strange. If one had told him mere hours ago that he would be facing one of his old coworkers, he wouldn't have felt anything. Now, however, all that came to mind was a sea of similar uniforms and wide grins, of lazy mornings at the office and the term 'Tiger' thrown around long after the point in training where it should have been abandoned.

"Whoa, Svarozie," Hanna suddenly piped up, "I didn't know you had friends! Hi, Svarozie's friend!" The young redhead waved a hand at the man pointing a gun at them.

Renton blinked in surprise at the redhead's enthusiastic wave, then returned the smile. "My my. You sure have been keeping some interesting company, Eli," he remarked with a smirk.

"I suppose I do," the ex-agent agreed as he took a step to the left, placing his tall form between the redhead and the other man.

The other man chuckled at this, shaking his head. "You always did have a talent for understatement. I mean, damn. When I got a call about there being a terrorist attack at The Ark, I had no idea I was going to find a captive buddy of mine. Come on man, it's okay. You don't have to keep running with that Undesirable brat, you're good now. You can come home." With those words he jerked his head to the side, as if motioning for the former agent to get out of the way.

Mahogony eyes blinked in confusion. "Captive?" He repeated, the word seeming to trigger something in his mind. He then shook his head, grip tightening on his gun even as it remained lowered. "No. Renton… you're wrong. I'm not a captive. I never really was."

Renton's brow furrowed. "What?"

The ex-Ahimsa agent took a deep breath, eyes falling shut for a moment. "Renton… Renton, what you're doing is wrong. What _we_ were doing was wrong. The Undesirables aren't what were taught to believe."

"…Is that so?" His ex-coworker murmured, raising a brow.

"It is!" Hanna stuck his head out from behind the former agent, grinning, "We're all really nice once you get to know us! There's vampires and they can be kinda scary but they're cool! And chimeras but you really don't wanna bother them, they have nasty tempers! And those soul-sucking ladies called succubus' can be really nice once you convince them not to,you know, eat your soul! And-!"

"Hanna, be quiet," Eli hissed, cutting the redhead off.

"But I was just trying… to help." In spite of this, Hanna slunk back a bit, closing his mouth and keeping silent.

At this, the Ahimsa agent gave a snort. "Oh wow. Are you serious? You're making it sound like you actually care about them… hell, like they're your _friends_."

"Hey! We _are_ his friends!" Hanna snapped, scowling a little.

This triggered an actual laugh. "Whoa, wait, seriously? Eli, man, you've gotta move aside, I've got to talk to that little moron behind you. He's quite the comedian," Renton snickered as he stepped to the right and craned his neck, trying to get a better look at Hanna.

At these words the ex-agent moved with Renton, bringing his gun up as his eyes narrowed. "He's not joking," the man's tone was hard as he kept between his charge and their opposition.

Gray eyes widened in surprise. "Seriously?" After a few beats of silence, then man shook his head. "Wow. Damn, they must have _really_ done something to screw you up, Tiger. Don't worry though, we can fix that." His gaze went to Hanna's partner again, grin still in place. "Come on, buddy. You know damn well they're all just lying to you."

"They're not," the dark-haired man growled in response as his grip tightened on his own gun.

"Aren't they?" Renton replied, cocking his head to the side. "Come on man, isn't this exactly what training warned you about? I mean, seriously. Lies about how they're just like us? They're experts at brainwashing, you know that. Besides, what could you possibly hope to accomplish by being with them? The Council of Mitra's way too big to be taken down by some kid and his Ahimsa dog."

"I…" The ex-agent trailed off at this, his expression darkening. No, he knew it wasn't true. He wasn't brainwashed, he knew the truth. But admittedly, seeing this force, knowing only more were on the way, seeing the whole Ark…it was a bit of a worrisome wake-up call.

Perhaps this wasn't wrong, but the task that lay before them did seem almost impossibly big.

"Yeah, that's right," The brunet smirked as he turned his gaze to Hanna. "And you, Cross. Think about it. How can you think he's your friend? He's an _Ahimsa agent_, and besides that, he's human. He has the best position in the world right now. Why on Earth would he want to give that all up for you miserable little cretins?"

Hanna's brilliant blue eyes flashed with hurt and disbelief, "You're wrong." He spoke in a low voice, "I know you're wrong. He's not like _you_. He's different from _you_ and I know he's my friend. So you're wrong!" Hanna shouted the last word, fists clenched, daring the man to contradict him.

The Ahimsa agent merely chuckled as he looked back to Hanna's companion. "Man Eli, listen to that denial. Sounds like he really believes this shit. Come on man, remember who your _real_ friends are. I'm only trying to help."

His former coworker said nothing, teeth clenching as he mulled over the words. His true friends? No, to say his old coworkers were his true friends… that was a lie, wasn't it? It had to be, because when he thought of his friends, all he could think of was those bright blue eyes sparkling with laughter, a smile nearly swallowing up the redhead's pale face. All he could think of was a wide, sharp-toothed grin and a blue lipstick lined, bemused smirk. All that came to mind were half smiles around a single fang and laughter that came up over the worst of things, drowning away.

When he thought of all this, Renton's grin was nothing. How could it, when his smile had never reached his eyes?

The brunet in question gave a sigh. "Having trouble, eh? It's okay, a bit of time in the psych ward will fix that. I'll help you make your decision. Step aside." With those words the pistol in his hand gave a click, the energy within humming as it was aimed at the ex-agent's chest, or rather, the head of the man behind him.

Unfortunately for Renton, this was what it took to snap Hanna's partner out of his reverie. In an instant he'd changed his aim and a shot rang through the air, loud and terrible and only swallowed by the brunet's shriek of pain as he collapsed to the floor, clutching at the graze across his arm.

"I always was the better shot," The former agent said as he gazed down at his former companion.

"Tch," Renton breathed, his whole body giving a shudder. "You bastard… fine, get both of them!" He snapped.

At his command, the guards sprang to life. The ex-agent promptly grabbed at Hanna's shirt and pulled him aside as several gunshots rang through the air, returning fire to take out the man closest to them. "So, how about those tag-team fight moves, hm?" His partner asked as he ducked from another shot.

The somber expression on Hanna's face immediately evaporated into a devilish grin, "Hahahahaaaa! Yes!" Blue light flickered from his hands and from underneath his feet, "You ready, Ignacio? This is gonna be a _blast_!"

"I suppose that's one way to put it," the dark-haired man said as he tugged a small, glowing blue canister from his sleeve and slid it into place with a _click_.

"Let's do this thing!" Hanna leapt forward, beams of light erupting from his palms and slicing through the first couple of guards. They fell back with cries of pain and Hanna raced out of the way as a storm of gun fire blackened the metal where he'd been standing. His boots squeaked across the floor as he spun on the spot, letting out another round of cerulean energy.

"Adelo!" The redhead shouted above the noise as he dodged yet more gun fire, "Cover me! I'm gonna whip out some heavy duty _awesome_ on these guys!" And he dropped back against a wall, pulling a black marker from an inner pocket of his worn out jacket.

His partner nodded in affirmation as he avoided another hail of gunfire, absently feeling grateful that the guards weren't all Ahimsa agents. A part of him had to wonder just how much damage Hanna could do with a marker, but he shoved this questioning aside and focused on keeping the guards away with measured shots.

After what he'd seen Hanna do, he had no doubt that leveling a mountain wasn't entirely out of the question.

Hanna danced around the fallen guards, his marker never straying far from the floor, blue light flickering from his heels as he sped himself forward. He suddenly gave a shout of triumph and skipped back towards the former Ahimsa agent.

"Better close your eyes," Hanna said, crouching down to the floor, marker flying across it in expert strokes, "This is gonna be bright."

Light spilled from his hands and he pressed his palms against the floor. A low rumble-not a physical sensation but more like a feeling-shook everyone still standing and caused them to pause. Then, after a brief second of silence, an eruption of blindingly blue-white light exploded amongst the guards still standing in their way.

The ex-agent's eyes widened as he surveyed the damage, jaw dropping along with his arm. Their opponents lay in a groaning mess on the floor, most unconscious while others were left whimpering in pain. "Well," he said slowly. "I'm beginning to see just why it is you're regularly at the top of our most wanted list."

Hanna laughed, "Oh, yeah, well, you know..." He rolled his eyes, shrugging, "Er, maybe we should get going. We don't any more guards to show up." His brilliant blue eyes strayed over to where Renton was lying, "Or any of your friends." When he looked back, his smile had returned, "Let's get going!"

And before the ex-agent could get in a word, Hanna was tearing down the hall, dodging around corners, looking almost exhilarated by the fight that had just occurred.

The two continued to make their way through the hallways. Unfortunately for them, the place seemed to have a downright obscene amount of guards, and every group they left behind was replaced by another shortly after. The ex-agent did his best to keep them all at bay, but ammo was running short even with the weapon he'd taken off of their first adversary. Hanna was a blur of blue as he fought, a shooting star trapped in the halls, but as time went on even he began to slow down. To make matters worse, they couldn't take out every guard they fought, and there seemed to be more footsteps following them as they continued to flee.

_"Are you just cursed, or something, Hanna?"_ Conrad asked almost mockingly over the communicator when they encountered yet another group of guards. _"Seriously, you're ruining _everything_. I think you're fucking cursed. My life never sucked this badly until you came along! I swear, it's like your only talent! Fucking everything up!"_

"Conrad, you're _not_ helping," the ex-agent said tersely as he slid into his usual stance. From behind them, he could hear more footsteps, which was most certainly not a good sign. "How many more guards are there?"

_"How the fuck should I know!"_ Conrad screeched, sounding particularly irritated, _"God, did you want me to just _count_ them all or something!"_

"So we're going to be surrounded no matter what, from the sounds of things," Hanna's partner muttered before looking to the redhead in question. "Hanna, are you going to be all right? We-" He was cut off by the sound of a gunshot and dove on reflex, again taking Hanna with him and returning fire. "We may be at this for awhile," he finished in a grunt as he reloaded yet again.

"Oh I'll be fine!" The redhead grinned even with his face pressed against the floor, eyes locked ahead at the guards blocking their progress, "Just, you know, if I go at this for about, oooohhhhh," He paused a second to think, frowning slightly, "About five more minutes, I might collapse." He laughed a little, though it sounded a tad strained. "It happened before and I was fine! Worth was telling me to stop and I didn't and then I don't remember anything but I woke up three days later so I should be okay! What about you? Are you going to be all right?"

Mahogony eyes widened as they met bright blue, and it was only then that the ex-agent took in the shaking of Hanna's limbs, the way sweat was sliding down his too pale face.

Well, that couldn't be good.

"I…" The ex-agent trailed off, swallowing, then nodded. "I'm fine. You just stay behind me, all right? The last thing we want is for you to pass out," he said as he rose, putting himself in front of a rising Hanna.

"You worry too much, Margardo, I'll be just-"

He was cut off by a loud _clank_ as one of the ceiling panels was abruptly pulled aside, followed by a heavy _thud_ as a blur of flowing skirts and blue hair fell from the heavens. The unfortunate guard was left in a groaning heap under Toni's combat boots, the girl in question huffing as she brushed herself off. "You'd think I'd get used to crawling through air vents, but nope!" With those words she looked to the prone Hanna and kneeling Ahimsa agent, then grinned. "Hey boys! Want some help?"

_"Is that Toni?"_ Conrad asked, _"I thought I heard Toni! Tell her to turn her communicator on! I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind!"_

"Hey Toni!" Hanna waved a shaking hand, completely ignoring Conrad's complaining, "You're just in time! We're about to get into a huge fight! It's gonna be totally awesome!"

"I can see that," the blue-haired woman's smirk twisted into a terrible maw as she transformed on the spot, eliciting yelps of terror from the guards surrounding her. The appearance of bright blue fur seemed to be the catalyst they needed to snap back into action. Gunshots rang out anew as the guards rushed to give Toni space, most missing by a mile due to panic. "Honestly, humans. They have such a talent for overreacting," Toni drawled as she swiped at the nearest one.

The ex-agent took out one behind the werewolf as his eyes narrowed.  
"That's one way to put it," he said mildly as he rolled to the side. "Conrad is… somewhat upset. Did something happen?"

Toni snorted at this as she leaped over an opponent, slamming his face into the ground. "He's just mad because we couldn't stomach leaving so many _people_ under these bastard's care. Veser's gonna bust all those cages wide open!"

Mahogony eyes widened in shock. "…_All_ of them!" He sputtered.

"Good." Hanna said with a dark grin as he ran across the floor, dodging gunfire, "If he wasn't going to do it then I was."

_"You're all crazy!"_ Conrad yelled, _"This is insane! Don't you realize you could all fucking _die_! There's too many guards! Get out! Fuck the stupid dragon and get out!"_

"Don't worry, Connie." Hanna replied with a shaky smile, "We can handle it. You just keep an eye out, 'k?" He clenched a fist and thrust a hand forward, firing off another blast of energy that looked significantly weaker than the before.

The ex-agent winced as he watched the energy spark, then fired off several shots of his own. He hoped Hanna was right and they could handle it. However, the more he saw the redhead shake, the moment he saw Toni be smashed against the wall, every shot he made that seemed to make no difference…the more it all began to add up, the more he had to admit that chances were looking slim.

So when he heard explosions from down the hall, he wasn't entirely sure if he should see it as the cavalry charge or another spot of trouble.

Veser suddenly charged around a corner, a harpoon of black metal in one hand and his goggles pulled down over his large eyes. He gave a wild laugh, showing all of his dangerously sharp teeth, and leapt into the air, throwing out a handful of small, glowing red spheres. The devices fell among the guards, releasing a series of small explosions that knocked them backwards. Veser landed on his feet and charged through the ranks, sending several guards flying with his harpoon. He dodged a round of gunfire and skidded to a halt in front of Hanna, Toni, and the ex-Ahimsa agent, pulling his goggles down around his neck.

"Never fear, ladies," The half-selkie said with a grin, "Veser Hatch is here!"

"Whoa, man, that was _awesome_!" Hanna cried, jumping on the spot, "How the heck did you fit all those bombs in your pockets?"

"I fit everything in my pockets." Veser said with a grin.

The ex-agent swore he saw the blue werewolf roll her eyes as she slammed a guard into the nearest wall. "Now if you could just fit some _humility_ in there."

"Baby, you got more junk in your trunk then I got in my pockets." Veser winked at Toni, smiling in a flirtatious way.

Toni visibly tensed, her claws digging into her unfortunate victim. "You are _so_ lucky we're in the middle of a life or death situation or I'd shove that harpoon down your throat!" She snarled out as she spun about to tackle her next victim, a growl sounding at as she aimed for the man's throat.

"Veser, what happened with releasing all the animals?" The ex-agent spoke up, taking out one of the guards behind the half-selkie. He wanted to get this done with fast.

"Oh. Yeah. That." Veser shrugged, spun the harpoon and slammed the end of it into an unfortunate guard who got too close, "Well, see, I couldn't figure out which buttons did what sooooo..." He threw out another handful of bombs, shaking the whole hallway, "Basically, the cage's will all open or we're all going to explode in a glorious display of _awesome_!"

"_What_!" Toni very nearly shrieked. Impressively enough, Conrad matched her pitch, his tone causing the earpiece in the ex-agent's ear to ring out of protest.

"I thought you said you had this under control!" The werewolf continued, eyes wild.

"Aw, man, really!" Hanna cried, leaning on the wall and still managing to smile, "Will it be multi-colored?"

"Every thing's _fine_!" Veser protested, "Geez, why do you guys keep acting like I have no clue how to handle an explosive? Look, I'm pretty sure that I got the bomb attached to the right thing so don't worry so much!"

_"Maybe because you don't know how to handle them."_ Conrad grumbled, _"We found them in The Couch this morning. Whose hellish idea was it to make you in charge of things that explode anyway?"_

"An idiot's, that's who," Toni grumbled as she dodged another blow.

"How do you manage to get ahold of these things anyway?" The ex-agent had to wonder aloud as he took up a spot near Hanna, doing his best to guard the exhausted redhead.

"Guys, _seriously_, chill out!" Veser spun the harpoon, clearing away several guards from around him, "That bomb's not gonna go off for about thr-."

An ear-splitting _'BOOM'_ rocked the entire ship. The hallway jostled, sending them all tumbling head over heels. Guards let out yelps of pain as they collided with each other, Toni slipped by in a blur of bright blue. The ex-agent's eyes widened in shock and in the chaos he caught the sight of a shock of red hair, thought he heard someone scream and he wasn't sure if it was himself or Conrad yelling in his ear.

It was then that lights flickered out, plunging the hallway into darkness and leaving nothing but confused screams and the shrill shriek of twisting metal in their wake.

* * *

_Last chapter for a while, guys, sorry. College is eating Digi and I alive, mostly Digi. Go give Digi hugs, she needs them._

_We'll update next chance we get. And as long as I remember to update here. 8D_


	10. Chapter 8

_Wow, so sorry I haven't been updating, guys. I mean to and I keep getting eaten by college. And life. Lots and lots of life. Digi's in the same boat. But we're trying, folks, we're trying! _

_So get ready for a bucket load of updates! Well…sort of…

* * *

_

**CHAPTER EIGHT

* * *

**

The alarm rang, smoke poured from shattered air vents, and the whole world seemed to be tilting sideways. For an instant, the lights flickered out, plunging the hallway into darkness and leaving nothing but confused screams and the shrill shriek of twisting metal and the alarms. He felt someone's elbow slam into him as the world spun and then rather suddenly he was alone again, tumbling in the dark.

Finally, after several seconds that seemed like hours, everything went still. The alarms still rang as red emergency lights flickered to life from the panels in the walls. A series of groans and screams could still be heard, and more worryingly, _roars_.

The ex-agent gave a groan, his voice nearly swallowed in the constant scream of the alarms. His head was throbbing, the pain so great that even the dull flashing of the emergency lights wasn't helping. A brush against his head sent splinters of pain lacing through his skull, a glance at his fingers revealing them to be coated in a black substance.

He would have been confused had it not been for the unmistakable copper smell and the memory of just what blood tended to look like in red lighting.

"Is everyone all right?" He called out. His voice sounded surprisingly clear considering the shakiness of his limbs when he tried to rise. He supposed the unconscious guard that had been his unfortunate pillow could be seen as some sort of blessing, but he wasn't the type to believe in that sort of thing.

A chorus of groans came in response. "Veser, when this is over, I'm going to _kill_ you," Toni hissed as she rose, shaking out her long blue fur. In the strange lighting, her eyes seemed like glittering black orbs.

"As long as you-ow-do it nice and slow." Came the reply as the half-selkie pushed himself upright. His large eyes caught the red light and seemed to reflect them, giving the usual neon-green a silver sheen.

_"Is everyone okay? Are you guys all right?"_ Conrad sounded on the verge of a mental breakdown, his voice tight and crackled with static over the earpiece, _"Hey, someone answer me! Toni? Eli? Veser? Hanna? Is anyone there? Guys? Guys!"_

The ex-agent grimaced as he reached up to tap his earpiece. "We're fine, Conrad. Everyone's…" He trailed off, eyes widening as they fell upon one of the prone forms on the floor.

Hanna was sprawled on the floor on his side, eyes closed and arms and legs limp around him. The occasional blue spark shot out of his bracers as though they were trying to get the young redhead to wake up. A fresh cut was traced across Hanna's face, a thin trickle of blood running down his cheek, and there was an obvious bruise forming on his forehead.

Mahogony eyes widened and the ex-agent rushed to the redhead's side, breath coming out in a panicked gasp. "Hanna!" He exclaimed as he gave the redhead a light shake. When he received no response he carefully took his partner's pulse, then breathed a sigh of relief. "He's alive, just unconscious."

Toni gave a sigh. "Of course," she muttered. "I can't say this is the first time he's run himself ragged like this."

"He does this all the time," Veser said flatly, running a hand through his hair, "He just never knows when to stop, the moron."

Before anyone else could comment, a voice could be heard speaking over the intercom.

_"Attention all personnel! An attack has been made on the Ark! All gates have been released and the animals are loose! All uninjured personnel are to take the service hallways head to the emergency exits immediately! All main doors are in lockdown, the animals will be attended to at a later time! Repeat, all personnel are to…"_

"That is not good," The ex-agent muttered, gritting his teeth.

Toni frowned, then shook her head. "No. Actually, this is perfect," she said, a wolfish grin coming to her face. "This means everyone will be in the service hallways and the main area will be empty. The main area's where all the animals are, so..."

"All we need to do is break through and make ourselves a door," Hanna's partner finished for her, nodding as it seemed to click for him.

The werewolf nodded as well, then looked to Veser. "Got anymore of those bombs?"

"Aside from you?" The half-selkie grinned even as he reached into one of his many pockets, "Yeah, I got plenty. Lookin' for anything in particular?" He pulled out a handful of the small red bombs and one the large, neon-blue half spheres, eyes gleaming in the gloom.

The ex-agent shook his head as he picked Hanna up and slung him over his shoulders. "It doesn't matter. Whatever you've got that can punch a hole through a wall, we need it and we need to move _now_. Before these guys wake up." He nudged one of the groaning guards with his boot to get his point across.

_"Guys? Heeelllllooooo! What the hell is going on over there!"_ Conrad shouted over the communicator, _"Hey! The cameras are all out and I can't see what's going on! Hey! HEY! Someone answer me!"_

Veser started talking in a mocking tone of voice, high and somewhat girly, "Hey! Hey guys, I just did my nails! Hey, hey, hhheeeeeeyyyy! OMG, my skirt doesn't match my socks! Oh nooooo!"

Conrad let loose a spiel of angry curses and wished Veser a rather painful and slow death.

"Veser, stop being such a jerk. Just because Worth's not here doesn't mean you need to take his place," Toni huffed.

"Sorry about that, Conrad," The ex-agent muttered as he adjusted Hanna's position. "Hanna's unconscious and we've learned that the main parts of the ark have no guards. In order to get the dragon and get out, we need to go through there. Can you see a wall nearby that we can break through on your map? I know the cameras are out, but you can still see my tracking point on the computer, right?"

Conrad grumbled something inaudible and then said, _"Yeah, just go straight ahead, then a left, a right, and there's a door you have to go through. No more distractions, okay. Not a single one. Get the stupid flying lizard and get out. You guys have already done enough damage as it is."_

"Worth's going to kiiiillll uuuusssss~!" Veser chanted in a sing-song voice, his tone actually louder than the constant alarm.

"No kidding!" Toni laughed as she bounded down the hallway, stomping on unfortunate guards on her way out.

"I just hope nothing else _actually_ kills us," The ex-agent muttered as they went around one corner, then another. A few more steps and they found themselves at the door in question. Hanna's partner reached out and jiggled the handle, then made a face. "Well, they were true to their word. It's locked."

"Step aside, Explosive Expert coming through!" Veser stepped up to the door, slapped on one of his explosive strips, and stepped back. There was a small bang and a crack spread across the door front but it did not budge. Veser frowned and pulled out a neon-blue half sphere instead. He stuck the flat side against the door and skipped backwards. This time, the bang was a lot louder and the door was blown inside, slamming to the floor with a flat clang of metal on metal.

"And that's how you do it." The half-selkie said with a grin.

Toni shook her head as she loped past him, clearly more focused on their exit than exchanging banter. The ex-agent seemed equally determined and followed her through the smoldering hole in the wall, shifting Hanna on his back to keep the redhead from falling.

What awaited them was absolute chaos. They stepped into what appeared to be a large, open atrium. Glowing walkways flickered in and out of existence between the open balconies of the upper floors, their power source temporarily cut. The main floor itself was different from the service hallways, a glittering pattern of faux stone tiles that spread in a number of paths throughout the great room. Dotted throughout the room were a number of imitation trees, plants and even several waterfalls, meant to give the illusion of nature in a space that spoke of the crowning moment of human dominance. Amongst these were what the ex-agent assumed had once been exhibits, but the clear forcefields that held the animals were missing, leaving the habitats empty and torn apart.

And the animals themselves? Running wild throughout the ark, confused and scared. A cacophony of roars, shrieks and howls could be heard ringing through the cavernous room. A flutter of wings up above could be heard as the birds scattered about, a flash of fur and the thunder of hooves to their left leaving them all disoriented. A small lion cub could be seen trapped behind a fallen pillar, mewling in terror. Flames flickered throughout the room, glittering in darkened eyes as smoke squeezed the life from so very many of pairs of lungs.

The ex-agent slowed to a stop as he took in the chaos, swallowing. It was strange, seeing nature taking back a testament to man, and yet as he watched the flames slowly devour imitation fauna, all he could feel was a sense of sadness. Not for the ones responsible for the place, though he wasn't sure if sending all the workers out and valuing human life over these creatures could necessarily be stated as wrong. However, the fact remained that thousands of creatures were being sacrificed for a far smaller number of employees… and when it came down to it, regardless of who suffered in the end, he was well aware it was his fault.

This chaos was their fault. Had this really been when he'd wanted?

He didn't have time to muse on this, however, as Toni was once again calling out orders. "Guys, I think I see the dragon up on the second floor!"

A glance revealed the truth of her statement. Though it was hard to make out, the ex-agent was able to spot the thing. No more than two feet of dark scales, pushpin claws and tiny teeth, it was backed up against a wall. Leathery wings beating weakly, it looked positively terrified.

"I'm going," the werewolf said simply, and her tone left no room for argument. "You two hurry and make an exit. The sooner we blow this damn ship wide open, the sooner they can all get out."

"But some of them are trapped…" The ex-agent winced.

"If we don't hurry, _we'll all_ be trapped," Toni said grimly. "This is the best we can do. Now let's go!" With those words she darted away, a blur of blue that was nearly lost amongst the flames.

Veser watched her go, teeth gritted, "Damn it, I really hate it when she does that." He flashed a brief grin, "But I can't say I hate to watch her go." The smile vanished and he turned to the ex-Ahimsa agent, "Come on, dude, we've got work to do. How's Hanna doing?"

"He's… breathing," the ex-agent muttered as he glanced back at the redhead. He then glanced back out into the gloom. "Let's hurry. I want to get him out of here."

"Right, let's go." Veser glanced around to make sure nothing was going to lunge out of the darkness and tear him to pieces, and then took off towards the nearest wall. They stumbled through the shadows and Veser flattened himself against the wall, another silver sphere in his hand, this one pulsing a green light that matched his eyes. His gaze traveled up to the second floor, searching for Toni amidst the chaos.

The wolf in question could be seen as little more than a blue streak dotting the mangled second floor. Leaping from bit of debris to bit of debris, she could be seen slipping past a column that was shaky at best, flames casting an orange glow across her fur. This was concerning, of course, but not nearly as bad as the moment she vanished all together.

The ex-agent's brow furrowed as he eyed the pile of junk where he'd last seen the werewolf. After a few moments, he swore his heart skipped a beat. He wasn't spotting her, and the idea of losing someone so soon was-

He never got a chance to finish the thought, as Toni emerged from what seemed like a small maze of debris, jaws clamped carefully around a distinctive, tiny scaly body.

"She's fine," Hanna's partner murmured, his voice sounding almost too clearly relieved as he touched the half-selkie's shoulder. "Go."

Veser spun around and pressed the sphere against the wall, "Might wanna back off, guys! This might be kinda big!"

_"Wait, what're you doing!"_ Conrad cried, _"Are you blowing up the wall! Don't! You idiot!"_

But it was too late, the bomb was already counting down in flashes and inaudible beeps. Veser grabbed the ex-agent's sleeve and dragged him back, keeping an eye out for anything that might want to leap out of the dark and eat them.

Then came the explosion. A burst of bright flame that lit up the dim area, the force of it all enough to blow back the ex-agent's coat and make his teeth rattle. He stood fast, however, holding onto Hanna and shielding his eyes from the blast. When it all cleared he allowed his arm to drop, blinking through the spots in his eyes and coughing in the smoke from the explosion.

"Move!"

Toni's voice rang through the air, and the ex-agent acted on reflex. He leaped back, narrowly avoiding the first of the animals as they sped past him.

For indeed, the floodgates were open, and the creatures would not be deterred. There was a variety of hoots and howls as paws thumped across the remounts of the zoo. There was a blur of orange and black as tigers streaked past, eagles rushing by in a flurry of feathered wings. The small vampire could be seen darting out and hissing as it stuck to the shadows of the Ark, most likely trying to find a dark spot to hide until nightfall.

"Veser!" The ex-agent cried out over the chaos, straining to see through the blur of fur and scales. In the mess of it all, he'd lost him. "Toni!"

He couldn't see either of them. The animals were emptying out, the room collapsing and burning around him and his charge, and the other resistance members were missing. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't leave them behind!

"Eli!" Came a shout and suddenly Veser was flashing those dangerous teeth in his direction, "Come on, what're you standing around for! Hurry up and move or you'll get trampled!"

He blinked in surprise, then the ex-agent nodded. Right. Veser was fine, he swore he saw a streak of blue somewhere in the chaos, and he needed to get going. Adjusting Hanna's position on his back, the dark-haired man ran for the opening, dodging past thundering hooves and paws. Something large and furry jostled the two of them, but he ignored it, eyes focused on the messy circle of sunlight that represented their exit.

And then quite suddenly he was out, blinking in the harsh sunlight and ducking to the side to avoid a speeding ostrich. The force of this movement sent the ex-agent tumbling to the ground, the dark-haired man connecting heavily with the concrete as he tried to cushion Hanna's fall as well. He lay there for a moment, then struggled to his feet, wincing as he noticed a multitude of scrapes and bruises for the first time. He had never gotten this injured on a regular job before, this was certain.

Mahogony eyes were wide as he took in the sight of the formerly calm loading area. Crates were scattered everywhere, some smashed open, their packing peanut guts spilled out across the concrete. He could hear sirens in the distance, mixing with the sound of the alarms that still echoed from the Ark. Animals rushed this way and that, though he absently noted those he recognized as Undesirables were making a beeline for dark alleyways. He swore he even saw a young woman who'd possessed a fish tail mere minutes ago jogging barefoot across the ground, but he supposed he could have been imagining things.

"Ugh," Toni's voice was the first thing he heard. The ex-agent swore his heart skipped a beat as he turned to see her human again and holding a small, thrashing bundle of scales, claws and wings. "This thing really is a little monster. I don't' see why we weren't given a _carrier_ for the little bugger," she muttered as she held the thing at arm's length, trying to avoid thrashing claws.

"Were you given any sedative?" The ex-agent asked as they jogged toward a grouping of crates.

The werewolf nodded even as she grit her teeth in pain. "Sure, but the little bastard's too busy thrashing around for me to get at it."

"Hahahahaha! Oh my gosh, that was the best trip to the zoo _ever_!" Veser shouted, trotting towards them with a wild grin on his face, "We should do this again sometime!" His large eyes found the thrashing form of the dragon, "Wow, Toni, wish you'd hold onto me like that."

_"Shut up with the rude comments!"_ Conrad snapped, again so loud they could all hear him from the ex-agent's earpiece. _"Someone knock that thing out before it gets away!"_

"Toni's got the sedative." Veser pointed out and then a mischievous smile spread across his features, "I'll get it from you, babe." And he reached out towards Toni's skirts.

Toni immediately dodged away, scowling. "_Hell_ no. You take the damn thing and I'll get it," she snapped, shoving the squirming creature Veser's way.

"Ow! Oh God, this thing's moving around more than Hanna! Ow!" He winced as tiny claws raked his cheek, "Hurry up, Toni!"

The werewolf rolled her eyes as a hand reached into her mayer layers of skirt. The ex-agent had to absently wonder where she kept everything as he saw her remove a syringe. One quick movement later and the dragon's eyes were fluttering shut, it's claws and thumping tail going still as it slumped in Veser's arms.

"There," Toni sighed as she set the syringe aside. "It's done," she murmured, swaying on her feet.

A gloved hand immediately shot out to catch her, the ex-agent's brow furrowed in worry. "Toni? Are you okay?"

The werewolf gave a pained nod and a weak smile. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I just… twisted my ankle and I'm a little tired, that's all."

"Damn it," Veser growled, "Figures this would happen. Way to fuck everything up, Hanna."

_"You guys should get back here ASAP."_ Conrad said, _"You sounds like you're in pretty bad shape."_

The ex-agent shook his head. "There's no way we're in any condition to walk back yet. Besides… considering what just happened, security's probably going to be tighter around the city, even in the slums. The last thing we want to do is run into more Ahimsa right now."

Toni nodded in agreement as she tried to force herself to stand. "That's true. We need to get out of this area though. Those sirens- oof!" She grunted as her leg gave out again and she collapsed against Veser this time. "Ugh, sorry."

"You're fine, honey. This is where you belong, right at my side." The half-selkie smiled, holding the dragon under one arm as he wrapped his free arm around the werewolf's shoulders.

Toni made a face, but didn't fight Veser off. She wasn't exactly in any position to.

Veser looked up at the former agent, "You're right, though, man. There's no way we could even take on a freaking guard this way. Hmmm," He thought for a second and then said, "Well, I think there's only one thing to do!"

"And that would be...?" The ex-agent trailed off, brow furrowing.

The grin he received in response was mildly terrifying.

"Time to go see the old man!"

* * *

The trip to their mysterious safe house was as much of an adventure as the trip there had been. Hanna was unconscious, meaning his bracers had dimmed. Thus, Veser was stuck trying to support both Toni and a baby dragon in the relative darkness of the tunnels. This resulted in the occasional curse and grunt, followed by a flurry of suspiciously-overconfident babbling when Toni suggested she either take the dragon or try to walk on her own. Then there were the curses and yells from Conrad over the ex-agent's headset, which were tame in comparison to Worth when he finally decided to take over the microphone. His unfortunate victim finally opted for turning the thing off, as the last thing he wanted to deal with was another headache for the moment.

The ex-agent kept silent as he made his way through the tunnels, finding his load strangely light. Hanna weighed next to nothing, which was concerning in itself, but he was doing his best to not think about it. Of course, aside from the occasional direction from Veser, he didn't have much else think about, and as he walked, his thoughts only grew more troubled. Between Hanna's lack of weight, the flickering of his bracers and the constant memories of their recent mission, he had more than enough to be concerned about.

He found himself feeling grateful as they finally arrived at what was apparently the appropriate ladder. After adjusting his charge once again, the ex-agent found himself making his way up the ladder, feeling the bite of frigid metal even through his gloves. He slide aside the heavy covering of the entryway, then poked his head up. All he could see was darkness, though his nose wrinkling at a strange smell he couldn't quite place.

"Where are we?" He muttered as he pulled himself fully out of the trap door… only to run into a face full of fabric. White, stiff and smelling faintly of a mixture of oil and alcohol, only one word came to mind in response.

"What."

"That old man seriously needs to get a light in here...!" Veser's voice grumbled and then there was a thud, "Ow! Fuck! Who the hell decided to put the tunnel exit in the closet, anyway? Where's the door...?" There was a click and then a hissing sound and light flooded into the tiny space, revealing several racks of clean pressed clothes hanging above the trapdoor they'd just climbed through.

"Right," Toni said slowly from below them. "I'll just stay down here for now, it sounds like there's no room."

"You'd be right," The ex-agent muttered as he glanced around the closet. His eyes finally fell on the door handle, and his brow furrowed. The sight of the metal structure when he was so used to things like thumb pads and scan panels was a bit off-putting. "Should we… ah… knock first?" He wondered aloud, uncertain in regards to the etiquette of climbing through a trap door in someone's closet.

"Naaahh," Veser said, eyes glowing a little in the light from the glowstick in his hand, "Just bust in there, no one'll care."

"All right then," Hanna's partner still sounded unsure, but with a shrug he grasped the door handle, then pushed.

Warm, yellow light spilled into the closet, a sharp contrast to Veser's neon green glowstick and the faded gleam of Hanna's bracers. The room beyond the closet was a rather decent size, with thin, cream colored carpet, dark brown walls, and several, rather stiff looking couches and chairs scattered around it. A miniature chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting light from the bulbs in its twisting arms, a bookshelf of black painted wood was against one wall and several paintings hang in intricate frames were dotted tastefully around the room.

A white vase painted with swirling blue patterns was sitting on a dark wood stand in a corner, a low table of ancient mahogany with a polished glass top was placed in front of the chairs, an empty fire place of weathered stone and dark grout was facing the entire room, and a single door with a shiny gold handle was opposite the book case.

But the most astonishing part was the sheer amount of clocks. They were on every single wall and tucked into ever corner. A towering grandfather clock was in the corner nearest them, its pendulum swinging back and forth in perfect time, three different wall clocks hung to their left, a steeple clock sat atop the book shelf, a camelback clock was perched atop the fireplace, and there was even a couple of lyre clocks sitting on the low table.

They were all well polished and cared for, the faces gleaming in the light, their hands swinging in smooth rhythm, not a single trace of old age upon them. And they were all ticking in perfect harmony with one another.

The ex-agent stood in the closet doorway, unsure of how to handle the rush of emotion as he took in the sights. The room was like nothing he'd ever seen. The furniture was all beautiful, but the ornate decorations carved in the wood were a far cry from the perfect, crisp angles he was used to. The fireplace was an anomaly  
all its own, something he'd only seen in history books, and the paintings something he'd only seen in projections in museums. Even the lighting was strange, a soft, warming yellow glow as opposed to the fluorescent glow he was used to.

It was beautiful, yes, and at the same time something felt off. It was probably the agent slowly dying inside him, screaming that this was all highly illegal. Or maybe it was the clocks, which were admittedly somewhat off-putting, especially if one was used to digital ones.

"Impressive, isn't it? I think Ples' collection is one of the most impressive one's in the city," Toni commented as she pulled herself up the ladder, her voice only slightly pained.

"So I see," The ex-agent murmured.

"Pllleeeeeessss!" Veser shouted as he shouldered his way past the ex-agent and stomped into the room, tracking mud and dirt and who knew what else onto the spotless carpet. The unconscious dragon swung this way and that in his arms, thankfully too out of it to notice this mistreatment. "Ples! Hey old man, you home?"

There was the sound of footsteps and then the other door in the room was thrown open, "Veser, you should know better than to shout! And the _carpet_! What did I tell you about the carpet!" A man stood in the doorway, looking horrified at the amount of filth one teenager had managed to drag in with him. His hair was black and swiped with bits gray-white, his eyes dark behind thin, half circle glasses, and he was quite tall, almost as tall as the ex-agent.

He strode into the room, closing the door behind him, "Control yourself, Veser! To go around shouting is not the best way to keep yourself from getting arrested _again_. And I really can't keeping paying off-." He suddenly pulled up short, the golden chain dangling his vest pocket glittering in the warm light, and stared at the dragon. "A dragon. Why is there a dragon? What's going on here?" His eyes were wide now as they fell upon the ex-Ahimsa agent. "Who is this? Why is Hanna unconscious… again? What happened?"

"It's a long story, Ples," Toni sighed as she finally limped into the room. Upon catching the ex-agent's concerned glance, she gave a small laugh and waved him off. "I'm fine Eli, I can manage a ladder and limping to a _chair_, thanks," She said as she did just that, giving a soft sigh as she finally rested. After a moment she looked to Ples and smiled. "Don't worry, Eli's just the new guy. Nothing to worry about, he's been looking after Hanna."

The ex-agent felt something twist within him as he laid the unconscious Hanna out on the couch. Hearing it put like that in conduction with seeing the redhead now, he really felt that he wasn't doing the best job.

Ples sighed and massaged his forehead with two fingers, "Anything that left Hanna unconscious must be quite a tale...though it isn't really anything new." He glanced around at the entire group, "I'll get medical supplies, just stay in here for the moment. Ah, and please make sure that dragon stays asleep."

"All right already." Veser grumbled, flopping into a nearby chair, "Just get us something to eat." Ples scowled at the half-selkie and then turned and left the room, closing the door firmly behind him. Veser switched his attention to the former agent, "Hey, is Hanna still doing okay? I mean, he got pretty banged up and everything and he usually does this sort of thing all the time but..." He left the sentence hanging, almost admitting the worry that was showing in his eyes.

The ex-agent nodded. "He's fine… not terribly responsive, though," he murmured as he stepped away from Hanna, leaning against the arm of the couch. He felt awkward in this room, as if he didn't belong with his trenchcoat and technology. A seat would have only made him feel worse about the whole thing. "Is this really so normal?" He asked, brow furrowing.

Toni gave a nod and a sigh. "Yeah. If he's not getting himself injured in some ridiculous accident or just by playing hero, then he's overdoing things. He only has so much energy to power the bracers and if he uses too much he'll collapse. Worth just decided to make a point of keeping a first aid kit here at Ples' after the third time, but he's still going to be pissed that we weren't able to somehow magically teleport back home after all this."

She received a raised brow at this. "Because he wants to patch up Hanna or because he's angry about the mission?"

"Probably both," The werewolf laughed.

Veser leaned over the arm of the couch and peered at Toni, "Are yyyooouuu okay?"

He received an eyeroll in response. "I've been through worse, you know that. I'm more worried about the dragon, I'm amazed we got it out. It's not hurt or anything, is it?"

"That little thing?" The half-selkie hefted it off the floor, "It's still out cold. Man, that sedative Worth gave us is freakin' strong! What's it for, a horse? I bet this thing wouldn't wake up if you dropped it off a roof!" And he proceeded to shake it up and down, grinning like he'd found the most entertaining thing in the world.

At that particular moment, Ples happened to open the door and see the whole spectacle. His eyes widened and and he nearly ran across the room, almost dropping the silver box he was carrying, "Veser! Stop that! What do you think you're doing!"

"What?" The half-selkie snorted, still shaking the dragon, "It's not gonna wake up."

"Put it down." Ples said with a sharp frown and when Veser scowled at him, "What did I tell you?" Veser grumbled something under his breath, "What. Did. I. Tell. You?"

"Look, don't touch." Veser spat but he dropped the dragon to the floor, "Sheesh, old man, you treat me like I'm five. I'm nineteen, okay! I can take care of myself! Now where's the food?"

"You can clean yourselves up, first," Ples answered, setting the box down on the low table between the armchair where Toni was sitting and the couch. "The food is cooking and I'll make up some rooms for you. Just no rough housing, please." He smiled a little at Toni and the agent and then turned and left the room.

Toni let out a groan and smacked a hand over her face. "Veser… we're someone's guest. Would it _kill you_ to be some semblance of polite for a few hours?"

"Psh, what're you talking about? That _was_ polite." Veser sniggered, draping himself over the arm rest, "Hey baby, you gonna fix up my injuries? I got one on my lip that needs a tender kiss..."

"…You are so lucky I can't really stomp over there and clock you right now," The werewolf grumbled as she reached over and opened the first aid kid, then began rummaging around in it.

"Do you need any help?" The ex-agent inquired.

"Nope." The word was followed by a roll of bandages striking the man in the face. "You just focus on getting Hanna patched up, okay? If something gets infected, Worth is going to have our heads on a platter."

Hanna's partner had to agree with that sentiment. He'd seen enough of Worth's wrath to know to avoid it when possible. "We have more sedative for the dragon, right? I'd hate for it to wake up anytime soon," He said as he gently scrubbed at the cut on the redhead's face.

Toni nodded. "Worth gave me plenty so it'll be fine. If we need anything else we can contact the network and we should have whatever we need in a few hours."

"So is… Ples a part of this network, then?" The ex-agent asked, brow furrowing as he glanced around the room. "He seems… well off…" He trailed off, his unspoken remark hanging in the air.

Undesirables didn't have this kind of money.

"He's just an old weirdo who ticks a lot." Veser muttered, putting his chin in his hand and propping his elbow on the arm of the couch, "And he really hates the Ahimsa." he flicked his gaze towards the former agent, "No offense, dude."

"He's actually one of our undercover agents, we got very lucky with him," Toni stated as she set to wrapping up her ankle. "He's never been very open about just what triggered the whole resistance thing, but I know his day job is as an accountant in the inner circle. He has a thing for Victorian era stuff, as you can see. The whole 'secret room in his house' thing makes for a convenient hide out, and he's good for getting information we'd otherwise have trouble accessing."

The ex-agent nodded as he placed a band-aid on one of Hanna's wounds. "That would make sense… though admittedly I find myself pondering over the logistics of hiding a whole room like this."

Toni had to smirk at this. "Like I said before, you'd be surprised what we're capable of. It's mostly all undercover and not a lot of people are willing to fight, but we know how to keep secrets."

It was then that the door opened once more and Ples shouldered his way in carrying a tray loaded with steaming bowls. He carefully shut the door behind him again and set the tray on the table.

Veser leaned forward and scoffed at the food, "Dude, seriously? Soup? Where the hell's the gourmet steak and potatoes?"

Ples scowled at the half-selkie, "Go ahead and turn your nose up at it if you want but I'm not making anything else. I can't exactly pull a meal from my rationed supplies. This is from the supplies the resistance gives me so when when _you_ show up I can feed you." The man smiled in a mocking sort of way, "Or does Lord Veser want his tuna fish?"

"Do you _have_ tuna fish?" Veser looked up expectantly and Ples rolled his eyes.

"Later, Veser." The said, leaning down to pick up a bowl and hand it to Toni, "Let me help here first. Are you all right there, Toni?"

Toni flashed a smile. "I'm fine, Ples, thank you. I'm just happy to have a good meal and possibly actual bed for a bit."

"That's good." Ples smiled and then looked around at the Ahimsa agent, "You should probably wake Hanna up if you can. I'm pretty sure some food would help him get his energy back."

The ex-agent nodded as he took his bowl and set it aside, then turned to Hanna and gave him a light shake. "Hanna?" He whispered, trying to get the redhead's attention.

Hanna muttered something softly under his breath and his eyelids fluttered but he didn't quite wake up.

"Slap him across the face." Veser said past a mouthful of soup, "That's what Worth does and it always wakes him up."

The half-selkie didn't see the eyeroll he received in response. Hanna's partner wasn't sure he'd ever get used to hearing about the violence that made up most of the redhead's life. "Hanna? Can hear me? There's food," he said, relief obvious in his voice. For everyone's insistences that the redhead was all right, the ex-agent had to admit he'd been worried. Not being sure whether Hanna was unconscious or just asleep would do that.

These worries were somewhat washed away when Hanna's eyes half opened and he muttered, "Food?" A little smile traced his face, "Hey Lasatalon...you okay?"

The redhead received a small smile in response. "Shouldn't we be asking you that?" His partner asked as he held out the bowl. "Can you sit up and eat this?"

"Yeah, I think so..." Hanna propped himself up on his elbows, winced, and then sat up straight, "There we go. See. Just fine." He smiled his usual brilliant smile, "See everything went just fine, just like I said it would!"

"No dude. It did not." Veser sneered, "You messed up big time but it's okay," The half-selkie puffed out his chest, grinning, "Because _I_ saved the day."

"I didn't mess up _that_ badly." Hanna muttered, scowling a little.

The ex-agent quirked a brow as he glanced over at the half-selkie."You saved the day, hm?" He murmured as he handed the soup bowl to Hanna.

"I don't know if I'd go that far, mister 'I-think-blowing-the-ship-up-is-a-great-idea'." Toni said with a smirk.

"Wha-hey!" Veser shouted indignantly, "I got us out alive, didn't I? That counts as saving the day!"

Hanna laughed a little, "Hahaha! I knew it! I knew we'd have to blow it up! Oh, awesome! Did all the animals get out okay?" His blue eyes flashed to the bandage on Toni's ankle and his smile dropped, "Are you okay, Toni? What happened?" He managed to say all of this between shoveling spoonfuls of soup into his mouth.

The werewolf's expression softened as she looked to Hanna, shifting slightly so as to hide her ankle from view. "It's nothing, Hanna. Don't worry about it. The animals all got out safely and the dragon's fine. Mission accomplished, whether Worth agrees or not."

Hanna blinked at her for a second and then his usual smile came back, "Well all right then! Mission Rescue Baby Dragon complete!" He ate several more mouthfuls of soup and then turned to the Ahimsa agent, "And you did an awesome job, Vastitas. Those were some of the most kick-ass moves I've ever seen!"

He received a blink of confusion in response. "Me? I… didn't really do anything. It was you three who really did everything," the ex-agent replied.

Toni rolled her eyes. "Oh, stop being modest. I saw those Matrix moves. We're lucky most Ahimsa aren't that good, we'd have been screwed over a long time ago."

"I…" Hanna's partner trailed off, then shook his head. "Thank you. But really, you three did very well. Things were less… structured than I'm used to but this whole thing worked rather well. I'm the one who should be impressed."

"Ha! You bet" Veser scoffed and his ego swelling was an almost a tangible thing, "We're friggen' awesome!"

"Yeah..." Hanna murmured and then yawned, "We're the bestest..." The rest of his sentence trailed off into gibberish as his eyes closed and he slid sideways on the couch, draped over the cushions, the empty soup bowl still clutched in his hands.

The ex-agent's brow furrowed in concern and he reached for the redhead's shoulder, only to see Toni shake her head.

"He's still worn out, don't worry. He just needs rest," the werewolf stated as she set her own soup bowl aside. "The fact that he woke up is good, it means we can probably get going tomorrow. Before that though, I think I feel like following his example." She glanced from Veser to the ex-agent, then gave a sigh. "I suppose I'm going to have to ask one of you to escort me to my room, aren't I?"

"I'll do it! I'll be the gentleman!" Veser proclaimed, leaping to his feet, "Don't you worry about a thing, Toni. I'll have you in that bed faster then you can say "yes"." And he grinned at her, showing all of his sharp teeth in a flirtatious way.

Toni made a face, then looked to the ex-agent. "I guess I can't be choosy when it comes to my knight in shining armor." With those words she carefully pushed herself to her feet, grabbing onto the half-selkie's shoulder and using him as support. "You guys will be okay, right? Ples only has one spare room."

The ex-agent nodded. "We'll be fine. Sleep well."

"She'll be sleepin' juuuusssttt fine," Veser was still grinning even as he looped an arm around Toni's waist, "Especially after spending a night with me."

The werewolf gave a groan as shoved Veser as far away as she could get away with. "_Good night_, boys," She said, rolling her eyes as the two of them vanished.

Shortly after this, Ples arrived to help get things situated. The apologies had come in regards to the fact that "as always", he only had blankets and pillows. Really, these things were already far beyond the ragged sheet the ex-agent had seen Hanna sleep with, so he just found himself feeling extremely grateful. Of course, Veser had complained when he'd found his usual battle with Hanna in regards to the couch would have to be forgotten in lieu of the circumstances. This seemed more like cursory grumbling than anything, and soon enough the half-selkie was curled up in a ball in one of the armchairs as if he were home.

The ex-agent had considered following the teen's example. Certainly, the plump pillow and folded blanket that had been placed on a chair near the couch seemed inviting, and his own exhausted muscles were screaming for him to rest. For awhile he had laid down, but something about the whole thing just seemed off. The overstuffed blanket and chair seemed downright alien, nothing like the adjustable, plain mattress he'd been used to back at his apartment or even the springs that dug into his back at the factory. The blanket seemed too soft, the chair smelled like an odd mixture between oil, alcohol and wood varnish. The formally comforting beat of the clocks now seemed overwhelmingly noisy, a cacophony of gears for the unwary to drown in. Quite suddenly he was aware of everything in the room and anything, from Veser's breathing to Hanna's occasional shifts and whines.

And it all made it far too easy to think.

Rather suddenly, things that had been pushed away by the present came rushing back. With no injured Hanna to deal with, the images now came, and he was helpless against them. It came in a wave, rolling over him like the heat from the explosion, memories of a suddenly burning world and shrieking animals, flashes of bright blue eyes and a horribly calm smile, views of something he'd only been dimly aware of before now shoved in front of him.

He couldn't make sense of it. And so finally, after several hours of trying to sleep, he turned to what had been a common solution from a time that felt entirely separate from him now. He rose, flicked on a light, and began to glance across the many titles that made up Ples' library.

This proved to be a far more interesting venture than he'd bargained for. The ex-agent had always enjoyed literature, indeed he'd very nearly devoured every library he'd come across in Varuna. Of course, the selection there had always been rather small. Most books from the old days had been outlawed and burned, and he had to admit he'd been feeling a growing dissatisfaction with the usual set little fantasies of how the Council and the Ahimsa saved the day yet again. To him, Ples' shelves were like a feast to a man who had been surviving on rainwater.

_The Great Gatsby_. _1984_. _The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_. _Moby Dick_. An actual _bible_. So many titles he'd only heard in whispers, so many words and not nearly enough time to devour them.

And so, hours into the night, the ex-agent could be found curled up on his chair, mahogany eyes darting back and forth as he plowed through page after page.

It was almost midnight when Hanna started shouting in his sleep. Not just talking, shouting. His words were strung together in an unintelligible mess punctured by cries of terror as he thrashed underneath the blanket, his bracers shooting sparks into the gloom, his face screwed up into an expression of undiluted fear, eyes squeezed shut, still in the grips of sleep.

The ex-agent had been at Hanna's side in a flash. A part of him had to ponder if waking the redhead when he was like this was really the safest idea, and the sparking bracers seemed to speak well for leaving things alone. But he couldn't ignore the screams, and so he gave Hanna a shake. "Hanna? Hanna, wake up," He called out, trying to keep his voice soothing and absently hoping the walls were thick enough to muffle the screams.

"No!" Hanna shouted and his arm flashed out and smacked the unfortunate man in the side of the face. He continued twisting around underneath the former agent's grip, "No! No! No! No! Please! Please! Let go! Let _go_ of me!" And he arched his back as though trying to throw the ex-agent off of him.

His partner winced as he struggled to keep the redhead still. "Hanna, calm down, it's just a nightmare! You're not- ugh!" He grunted as pale fingers grasped at his face, surprisingly strong. "Hanna, _wake up_!"

Brilliant blue eyes flashed open, the same neon color as the bracers, staring into nothing. Hanna's hand slid away and clenched at empty space, opening and closing almost mechanically. When he spoke again, his voice was a gasp, shaking, his entire frame quivering,

"There's more of them out there."

He received a furrowed brow in response, the ex-agent's grip weakening on the redhead's shoulders. "…More of them? Hanna, what are you talking about?"

Hanna did not look at him, didn't even blink. He just kept staring off into nothing, eyes wide, his breathing shallow as though it was hard for him to get a breath. He kept muttering under his breath, quick words that still shook with fear over something the former Ahimsa didn't understand. And he was so quiet, a complete opposite of the Hanna that the ex-agent had come to know,

"...they're out there...I know they are...they think I don't know but I do...and it's not fair...not fair that they did it...not fair...not fair..."

The redhead continued to clench at the empty air, fingers grasping at nothing, his body shaking, his face pale. In the dim glow of his bracers, he looked like a ghostly figure, lost in the material world.

"Hanna!" The ex-agent gave the redhead another shake, eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about? Who is 'they'? _Hanna_!"

This time, Hanna did turn to look at him. And there was nothing in his eyes; no feeling, no light, they were simply empty discs of blue staring hauntingly at the ex-agent. They almost seemed to be staring through him. And then, abruptly, Hanna's eyelids drooped and he slumped forward, chin touching his chest, his rigid, quivering frame going limp in the former agent's grip.

Strong hands kept the redhead steady as the ex-agent stood there, simply staring at Hanna. He wasn't quite sure what to do. What had _that_ been about? Was something wrong with Hanna? Should he risk the screaming and call Worth? What was going _on_!

"Wha' the hell are you guys doin' over there...?" Veser's sleepy mutter came from the nearby chair.

"I…" The former agent felt the words catch in his throat, unsure of how to describe the incident. "Hanna had… a nightmare," he said slowly as he gently laid the redhead back down, noting Hanna's calmed breathing.

Veser stared at him blearily for a moment or two and then snorted, "He does that all the time. Nothin' to worry 'bout." And he rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head. In seconds, he was sound asleep once again.

Hanna's partner sighed at this. The nonchalance with which they all seemed to treat Hanna's 'oddities' was starting to frustrate him. He supposed if this was a common occurrence, it made sense to let it go, but that fact didn't make the whole thing any less painful. Mahogony eyes gazed down at the now silent redhead before the ex-agent sat down again. Would he be like that, soon? Taking Hanna's every cry as nothing, ignoring each sight from this new war as if it were another day in the park?

He hoped not.

"Exiel...?" Hanna's voice murmured sleepily, "Whatcha' doin'...? Are you having trouble sleeping...?"

The ex-agent blinked in confusion. He was surprised Hanna was even awake. "Er… yes, I am," he muttered, seeming unsure of how to even reply.

The redhead smiled warmly, "I used to have trouble sleeping too when I first met Worth and Lamont. I was scared of the dark-only don't tell Veser that, he'd never live it down." Hanna laughed a little, "What'd you do to get sleep at your old home?"

His partner couldn't help but smile as well, though it was small. "Ah… I used to read a lot. Ples has quite the collection," he said as he gestured to the pile of books on the side table.

Hanna stared at the pile of books and then looked back at the former agent, "Whoa. Did you read _all_ of those tonight?"

He received a chuckle in response. "Not quite. I may ask if I can borrow them, everything's so interesting. I didn't even know half of these books existed, it's fascinating."

"I've got comic books," Hanna pointed out sleepily. "You should read them. Hey, you could totally be Batman…"

The ex-agent shook his head, his smile widening. "Perhaps I'll try that," He said. There was a beat of silence as he studied the redhead for a moment, taking in the set of tired blue eyes and sleepy smile. Hanna seemed, for all intents and purposes, like he'd just woken up normally, as if the nightmare had never happened. He wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Er… Hanna? Do you remember what woke you up?"

"Hm?" Hanna rubbed a hand through his hair, making it stand on end. "Oh...no, not really. I probably just woke up." He shrugged, "It's not important, it happens all the time."

Mahogany eyes narrowed slightly as the former agent stared at his charge. Then he sighed and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "If you say so."

Hanna started to roll over and paused, frowning a little as he looked at his friend, "You okay, Radeus?"

The ex-agent gave a nod. After a moment, however, he sighed. "There's just… a lot to consider, that's all," he murmured, threading his fingers together as he glanced down to them. "…Is this really wise, what we're doing?"

Hanna propped himself up against the arm of the couch, looking a little hurt, "Well, I...you know, if you don't want to stay here that's okay. You can leave anytime you want to."

He received a wide eyed stare in response. "I… what? No, of course not."

The redhead appeared not to have heard him because he just kept talking in a low, hurt tone of voice, "If you wanna go back to...to your old life, we're not going to stop you. If you really want to, that's fine. You're probably sick of living this way anyway." Hanna started tapping his fingertips together in a nervous sort of way, looking anywhere but at the ex-agent. "You can go back to place where you don't have to shoot your friends or worry about if you're going to wake up the next morning or sleep in a crappy, rundown factory. It's all right, I don't mind. We'll just go back home and Worth'll probably be pissed and kick me and stuff but that's okay because I know it's how he shows he loves me. And we'll have to figure out what to do with that empty room and it'll be pretty lonely for a while. But if you want to go back home, it's okay, I think I understand."

The ex-agent sat there for a moment, jaw dropping. He moved his mouth a few times, seemingly unsure of what to say. "Are you… _guilt-tripping me_?" He finally sputtered out.

"What?" Hanna looked up at his friend with an innocent expression, "_No!_ Why would you think that?" He was quiet for a second and then, "You're not...really going to leave, are you Somnion?"

"No, I'm _not_." The former agent couldn't help but feel taken aback. "Hanna, I shot one of my former coworkers today. If that didn't make it clear I'm going to stay by your side, I'm not sure what would."

The redhead stared up, wide-eyed at the ex-agent, and then he grinned, his eyes sparkling in glow from his bracers. He reached out a hand, fingers curled into a fist, and said,

"Bros for life, right Gaudion?"

He received a chuckle in response. His partner then reached out and gently bumped knuckles with him. "Of course," The ex-agent said before his brow furrowed again. "I just.." he trailed off as his eyes went to the patched up wound on Hanna's head.

"I just… don't understand how you can all treat this as if it's nothing, I guess."

"Huh? What're you talkin' about?" Hanna cocked his head to the side, rubbing sleep from one eye.

The ex-agent shook his head. "You got hurt. You _all_ got hurt, really… and for what? I… I do understand that what was going on in The Ark was wrong. I understand that. And yes, I know the dragon needed to be freed. But did we really need to do what we did? Did we really need to hurt so many people? When we let out all those animals… some of them were paranormal, yes, but some were just regular creatures bred in captivity. We may have just caused more problems by letting them free."

Here he paused and let out a sigh, reaching up and running a hand through short hair. "I don't want to make it sound like I don't understand the cause, because I do. The life you all live, it's… very freeing, and I'm grateful for it. I know what the Council does is very wrong. But we did so much damage… not just to them, but to _you_. I know fighting is important, when I think logically I know the cause is right. But… I guess I don't understand why we had to cause so much trouble and hurt so many people to do it."

Hanna stared at him for a long moment, sleep making his usually brilliant eyes somewhat dull. His brow was furrowed as he thought hard about what the ex-agent had said. After a moment, he spoke slowly, as though choosing his words carefully,

"Yyyeeaaahhhh, you're right, I guess. I know we went a little overboard but that happens sometimes. I know I screwed up big time and we blew up the Ark and people got hurt and a bunch of dangerous animals got loose. But..." The redhead trailed off there, pulling his knees up to chest, "But I know that in the long run, it's not the worst thing that's happened to this city...or its people."

He received a frown in response. "I suppose that's true. Logically, I understand. It's just…" He trailed off, then shook his head. "It's only you. It's only you, Toni and Veser. I know Worth helps, I know Lamont gets you things, I understand that there's a network… but you're the only ones actually fighting. You're the ones getting hurt. I know it's ridiculous, but I see this and I see what happened today… and I just can't make sense of it. I understand the city has had worse, I understand that freedom is valuable… but I can't stop wondering _why_."

"Why..." Hanna mused and yawned a little, "Why? That's a good question, Karyl." The redhead put his chin on his knees, wrapping his arms around his ankles, "I guess I never really thought about it before. But it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. You were in the Ahimsa," Hanna's voice took on an uncharacteristically dark edge, "You know first hand what it's like in there..."

"Mm," The former agent nodded, his gaze going to the table. "I suppose that's true. That's the reason why I'm here. And when I think about it, yes, it's right to go against them, but…" He trailed off for a moment, then sighed. "I'm sorry. This probably isn't making any sense."

The redhead looked up at his friend and smiled sleepily, "Nah, I think I get it..." He slumped down so his head was lying back on the pillow, "It's just..." He yawned and his eyes closed slowly, "You know..."

There was a moment of silence before the ex-agent frowned. "I know what?" He asked, looking back to Hanna again. After seeing the redhead's chest rise and fall methodically a few times, he let out a sigh. "Never mind," he murmured as he fell back in the armchair.

He sat in silence for a bit eyes going to the dark ceiling as he mulled over the information he'd received. There was far too much to think about, really. He'd already felt a tad confused, and while Hanna's words had assuaged his concerns somewhat, the strange twisting sensation he felt in his stomach refused to go away.

And then there was the new image of Hanna struggling in his arms, his blue eyes wide and unseeing as he screamed at something that wasn't there...

The ex-agent shook his head as he reached for his book. There was really no point in worrying about it right now. He was exhausted, he really just needed to try to unwind and let it all go for now. Still, his eyes wandered over to Hanna one last time, watching the redhead's deceptively peaceful face.

"…I understand why we're fighting," he murmured. "I just don't understand why it has to be you."

His only response came in the form of quiet breathing.


	11. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE

* * *

**

Waking up had been a bit of an affair at Ples' house.

Though really, the ex-agent was starting to realize that _every_ morning with Hanna and his friends was going to be a bit of an affair. Thus, he wasn't too surprised when he was woken by screams coming from down the hall. Granted, his first reaction _had_ been to dive to the floor and roll to the nearest cover, but he couldn't be blamed for that. Besides, once he realized the scream was of the "Veser-was-trying-to-peek-in-on-Toni's-shower" variety as opposed to the "mortal peril" sort, things were just fine.

Hanna's reaction to this had, of course, been complete amazement. He'd continued gushing over this maneuver over breakfast, up until the accidental explosion of the oatmeal. Said explosion was followed by a look of helpless mourning from Ples, who had mumbled something about having to get another couch to cover up the new stain while glaring pointedly at Veser. The whole thing was, typically, adventurous, and was only ruined when Toni declared that they should inform Conrad that they were alive. So she'd ignored Hanna's insistences that this was a bad idea, switched on her earpiece and then had quite literally received an ear-full from Worth and Conrad.

"_Ow_," she had groaned, trying to cringe away from the shrieking. "Right, okay, yes Conrad we're very sorry- Worth, shut _up_. Yes, mission accomplished, we're- ugh." She tugged the earpiece out of her ear and turned to the rest of the group. "Guys, we need to head out, the place we're supposed to deliver the dragon to is all the way on the other side of the city. Is the dragon still out?"

"One dragon, coming up!" Veser lunged over the back of the chair he'd been sleeping in, almost tipping it over, and reemerged with a squirming, scaly bundle in his arms. "Well, it _was_ asleep! Hey, stick it with some of that sedative, Toni! Before it takes my eyes out, maybe!"

The werewolf nodded as she stood, removing another syringe. "I almost feel bad for it, it seems practically _dead_ when we do sedate it," she muttered as she made her way over to Veser and poked the dragon. "It's okay, little guy. When you wake up again, you'll be with friends."

"Are you certain the woman we're bringing the dragon to is a friend?" the ex-agent asked, brow furrowing.

Again came a nod as Toni took the now unconscious dragon from Veser. "We've taken her creatures from time to time. She lives in the west side of the slums, she takes care of paranormal creatures. Think like… you know, a crazy cat lady. But with dragons," she said with a shrug.

"Yeah!" Hanna cried, licking oatmeal from his fingers. "And she makes the _best_ cookies _ever_! Odin, Odin, you gotta try some when we drop the dragon off!"

"Not to be pushy or anything," Ples said, stacking the empty bowls on top of one another, "but the west side of the slums is a rather fair distance. Shouldn't you get going if you want to get there before nightfall?"

Veser's eyes narrowed, "You're totally trying to throw us out, aren't you?"

"Wh-what, no!" Ples replied, straightening up. But his gaze switched to the floor and he muttered under his breath, "My carpet is never going to be the same..."

The ex-agent shook his head as Veser laughed. He then stood from the table, grabbing his coat from the back of the chair and pulling it on. "He has a point. We should get going. I don't want to risk the dragon waking up before we get there." With those words, he turned to Ples and held out a gloved hand. "Thank you for your help, Mr. Tibenoch."

Ples smiled a little, taking his hand in a brief, cautious shake. "You're welcome... er, Eli?" The man shrugged helplessly. "Take care of yourself. And if you can keep up with him, keep an eye Hanna. Veser -" The half-selkie grinned innocently. "Just stay out of trouble. And next time you stop by, _please_ wipe your feet. Toni," Ples turned to the werewolf, "please be careful."

Toni smiled in response. "Thank you Ples. We'll all be careful… won't we, boys?" She turned to glare at Veser and Hanna.

"I'm always careful!" Hanna announced, saluting smartly with a grin.

"I'll be safe for you, Hot Stuff." Veser gave Toni a thumbs up and a wink.

There was a beat of silence before Toni turned to the former agent. "So. All for getting this mission done as soon as possible?"

"I'm right behind you," the ex-agent stated as he headed for the door.

"See you around, old man." Veser nodded once to Ples, spun on his heel, and headed for the closet. His hand very nearly went for Toni's rear-end, but he was stopped with a glare.

"Don't. You. Dare," the werewolf growled before stepping into the closet and heading down the ladder.

"You know you like it, babe!" Veser called, his voice shaking with suppressed laughter as he raced after her. "You can't resist me!" Ples sighed and rubbed a hand over his face in exasperation as the half-selkie vanished down the ladder.

"All right, let's go!" Hanna cried and then leapt across the room to stand in front of Ples, thrusting a hand out, "Thanks a ton, Ples! For everything." And he smiled.

Ples couldn't help but return the smile. He clasped Hanna's hand in his own and shook it. "Always a... uh... pleasure, Hanna, I'm sure."

"See you around!" The redhead bounced back to the ex-agent's side. "All right, Xavier! Let's blow this Popsicle stand!"

The ex-agent chuckled and shook his head as he pushed Ples' clothes out of the way. "Of course. We have a job to do, after all."

The trip back to the slums was hardly different from the one that had led them towards the Ark. The only new thing was addition of the dragon to the party and Hanna's instant rants that the mission had gone wonderfully and that everything would be just fine when they got back to the factory. Veser pointed out that Hanna hadn't heard Conrad whining and Worth screaming over the communicators, and Toni gladly reminded Veser that the half-selkie was probably the reason Conrad and Worth were throwing fits in the first place. The ex-agent mostly remained silent, keeping an eye on Hanna and nodding or making noises of agreement as the redhead rambled on and on about how completely awesome the mission had been and wishing he'd been awake to see the explosion.

When they reached their exit, Hanna barreled up the ladder first, erupted into the murky sunlight, and shouted at the top of his voice, "Freedom! We made it, Hephaestus!" He skipped out of the way as the former agent climbed up after him, "Come on! I hope there's cookies!"

His partner shook his head, an amused smile on his face as he crawled out of the manhole. "I'm surprised how… incredibly used to this I seem to be getting."

"Well, you know. If you've climbed out of one manhole, you've climbed out of all of them," Toni drawled as she brushed herself off, then turned to glare down at Veser. "I _swear_ if you were planning on trying to use that sentence for something pick-up line related…"

"Do you _want_ me to?" Veser mused, crawling out after her. "Because I got a ton of them."

The ex-agent gave a sigh as he adjusted the sleeping dragon in his arms; it had been his turn to carry the creature, and it was snorting and stirring more than it had been earlier, so he was in a hurry to be rid of it before it woke and tore apart his coat. "Let's just try to be vaguely decent for a few minutes, all right? According to Hanna, this woman is elderly; the last thing we want to cause is a heart attack." With those words, he glanced up and down the street.

The buildings here all seemed fairly typical of the slums: lining the cracked asphalt that made up the road were ancient, multistoried houses of crumbling brick that had been coated with graffiti. Most of the windows were boarded up or lined with old blankets to serve as curtains, while punched out black eyes gazed out at the old beer cans and wrappers that littered the aged sidewalk. A dog could be heard barking in the distance, the creature's howling mixed with the rough laughter of a group of teenagers down the street. Normal, as far as the slums went.

None of the houses really seemed fit for an old woman to be living there… but then again, most of the houses didn't seem fit for living, _period_.

"All right, come on. We'd better hurry before that critter wakes up," Toni said as she walked past the ex-agent. The heels of her boots clicked as she ascended the concrete steps of one of the houses, then knocked three times.

There was a beat of silence. Again, the dog barked. Finally the door opened and a young man poked his head out. He blinked against the harsh sunlight of midday, then his face suddenly spread into a grin. "Toni?"

The young woman grinned back. "Joe!"

"Oh, wow!" the blond man exclaimed as he peered out at the group. "The whole gang's here, huh? I heard about the commotion at The Ark, I thought something had happened to you guys!"

"What happened was a boatload of awesome," Veser said with a sneer, gesturing to himself, "from yours truly!"

"Hiya Joe!" Hanna waved a hand through the air. "Hey, hey, did you see? We got a new member! Isn't that the _coolest_? Oh, and we got a vampire back home too! Hey, are there cookies?"

To Joe's credit, his smile only faltered slightly as he took in the sight of the ex-agent. "That's… er, great, Hanna. Yeah, Miss Brown just finished a fresh batch an hour ago. You guys should head on up there, she was real worried." With that he opened the door fully and stepped aside, allowing them entry.

"Hey, save some for me!" Veser shouted, racing after Hanna as the redhead charged past Joe and into the house. "Hanna, you pig! Don't you _dare_ eat the fish-shaped ones! Those ones are mine!"

Toni laughed and followed, leaving the ex-agent to bring up the rear. Mahogony eyes locked with blue as Joe shut the door behind them. "So, uh…" The blond trailed off, brow furrowing as he gazed up at the other man. "Aren't you….?"

"Yes," the former agent said as he turned and followed Toni down the hall. "It's… kind of complicated."

"A-ah. Okay then."

The group made their way down the hall, brushing past peeling wallpaper. The ex-agent couldn't help but notice the heat as they drew further inside. It was rather pleasant after the chill of the tunnels, though he imagined that if he'd been in the sun all day it would be a different matter. His eyes gazed absently over the pictures on the walls, not really paying much attention, though he had to stop as he finally got to the doorway of one of the rooms.

For laying on an ancient, beaten couch there was a dragon. The creature was draped across the it, the poor piece of furniture bending under its weight. A scaly tail coiled around the cracked leg of an old offer table and leathery wings were tucked across its back. Its chest rose and fell, smoke curling through the room and creating the sort of environment Worth would have appreciated. A television set flickered in the corner, which seemed to be where the creature's attention was settled.

"…Wow," The ex-agent gasped out.

"Oh, that's just Borris! You all already know he likes to watch his soaps during the day!" An aged voice called out from down the hall.

Hanna cocked his head to the side, observing the large dragon. "Huh, looks like he lost weight. Have you been exercising, Borris~?"

He received a low growl in reply. Hanna's partner just stood staring for a moment, mouth agape.

"Come on, tall, dark and trenchcoat-ed. We need to get that dragon to Miss Brown," Toni said with a smile, elbowing him lightly. The former agent gave a slow nod, then followed her down the hall.

"Hanna wasn't kidding about the 'crazy dragon lady' part, was he?" the former agent whispered as he eyed yet another room, spotting several dragons laying about. Red ones, blue ones, some with an entire rainbow of colors from snout to tail. Some were the size of cats, while others were as big as "Borris". Either way, there were dozens and they were everywhere.

"Dude," Veser said in a low voice, side-stepping a scaly tail that was poking out from underneath a ragged arm chair, "you have _no idea_."

The ex-agent shook his head, then followed the group down the hall into what appeared to be the kitchen. What awaited him was more peeling wallpaper, a grungy set of appliances that seemed to be in the best condition possible considering the circumstances, and a variety of smaller dragons wrapped around a set of what appeared to be aged cookie jars. What really caught his attention, though, was the woman standing at the stove.

She was old, that much he was sure of. Her silver curls flowed down her back and only seemed to accent her slightly dingy, flowery dress. The bangles on her arms tinkled as she stirred at some strange concoction on the stove, humming to herself as she absently stroked the beast on her shoulders with her free hand. She paused shortly after the former agent entered, a smile spreading across her wrinkly face as she turned to face him. "My my, what do we have here? A new face?" she murmured as she gazed at him.

Her pupils, wider than normal and an eerie, clouded over blue, seemed to gaze right through him.

"Ah, yes," Hanna's partner stuttered out, suddenly feeling a bit out of place. "I'm-"

The woman's clicking tongue cut him off. "Now now, Eli, calm down. I already know who you are. You'd be surprised how fast information travels around here," she laughed, her shimmering earrings tinkling with the emotion.

The ex-agent's brow furrowed. "But-"

"Is this about Joe? Don't worry, he's always nervous about something," she chuckled as she set down her wooden spoon and wiped her hands across her apron.

"H-hey!" The blond sputtered from the corner. "It's my job to be paranoid and protect you, you know!"

He received a laugh and a waved hand in response. "At any rate… I believe you have something for me, Eli?" Miss Brown asked, her eyes seeming to shimmer as she gazed up at him.

The former agent nodded, adjusting the creature in his arms before gently transferring it to the older woman's. He was a bit concerned considering the dragon's weight, but Miss Brown cradled the creature as if it weighed nothing.

"Ah, _yes_, there's my new baby. Oh thank goodness those nasty Ark workers didn't hurt you!" the elderly woman gushed as she poked at the creature's belly. After a moment, she frowned. "My my… just how much sedative _did_ you use?"

"Er, a lot?" Hanna shrugged, a grin spreading across his face. "Worth gave it to us. He says hi. Do you have cookies? Joe said you did. Marco totally has to try some of your cookies!"

Miss Brown rolled her eyes. "Of _course_ it would be him. That bastard doesn't know shit about sedatives, he just tosses a horse tranquilizer at everything and calls it good. Damn miracle he hasn't killed you all yet," she muttered as she shifted the sleeping dragon to one arm and grabbed a plate from the counter. "I've got your cookies, but you gotta sit down first, you hear?"

Hanna grabbed Veser's sleeve and dragged him down so they were both sitting on the same chair, staring eagerly at the old woman. Veser was showing all his teeth in what he supposedly thought was an innocent smile.

Toni gave a laugh as she sat down as well. "Honestly, the way you two act, you'd think no one ever fed you."

"I wouldn't be surprised!" The elderly woman huffed as she set the plate down. "Honestly, you all do such good work and don't seem to get anything in return…"

"The rest of us don't get to eat because the Eating Machine over here inhales everything we have!" Veser nudged Hanna sharply in the side so the redhead fell off of the chair.

"Hey! I'm not the only one!" Hanna argued back, scrambling to his feet and trying to get back on the chair, which Veser had completely taken possession of. "You're the one who eats all the tuna and stuff! I don't even _like_ fish!"

The ex-agent shook his head, reaching out to take a cookie while the two were wrapped up in their scuffle for the chair. "Lamont seems to be trying to bring whatever he can. We do our best with what we have."

Miss Brown nodded. "I'm sure you do… but a bit of _something_ wouldn't hurt, right? Go on, eat!" She motioned for the former agent to do just that before she turned her attention on the dragon.

"How _is_ the whole 'fighting' thing going, by the way?" Joe inquired as he sat down, propping his head in his hands. "I mean, we heard about the airship and I know Mr. Toucey's business is doing well, but… um, I heard something happened at Down the Rabbit Hole?"

Toni gave a sigh as she nibbled on a cookie. "Just… a monster attack, that's all. Someone got out of control. You be sure to tell everyone else in the network that we're grateful for you all keeping things quiet."

The blond nodded. "Well, we do what we can, just like you. I mean, it's the least we can do considering what you guys are up to. I mean.." He trailed off for a moment, eyeing the former agent. "I'm scared enough about the Ahimsa making a raid on the slums. I can't even imagine going back to the inner circle for _anything_."

"When the rich wage war," Hanna muttered through a mouthful of cookie, "it's the poor who die." He glanced up at the others to find them staring at him with vaguely shocked expressions. "What?"

"You just said something intelligent!" Veser pointed with a shark-shaped cookie. "Holy crap, dude!"

Hanna glared at him. "What's that supposed to mean? You act like I don't read anything! I can read!" He stuffed another cookie into his mouth and crossed his arms sullenly.

The ex-agent had to crack a smile at this. "We believe you, Hanna. I've seen the books." He then looked to Joe, brow furrowing. "Actually, could I get some clarification for how the whole resistance system works? I haven't heard a lot about it."

Joe rose a brow. "You don't know? Well, I guess you _are_ new," he sighed, the sound nearly lost in Miss Brown's cooing over the baby dragon in her arms. "The resistance is largely an underground thing. Most people in the slums are involved in the trading system, making sure supplies get everywhere and making sure that paranormals have places to hide in case of raids. We also have informants and people on the inside, like Mr. Tibenoch.  
"We're organized enough that if something happens, information passes along fast and can usually be kept under the Ahimsa's nose. We also have places like Miss Brown's house here… we watch after paranormal creatures that wouldn't have a place to go otherwise. We'd release them into the wild, if there was a wild to go to."

Toni nodded in agreement. "It sounds kind of strange when you see where we all live and how messy it all is, but we have to be as organized as possible. This is the only way we can all survive."

"I see." The former agent's brow furrowed as he considered this. It was mind-boggling, really; from what he'd been told of the slum activity, he'd been under the assumption that the all of the Undesirables there just acted like unorganized animals, and if they did have organization, it was tenuous at best. It was strange to hear just how wrong he'd been. "What about those of you on… offense, like we were?"

The blond grimaced slightly. "That's… a lot smaller. You have to understand, most people in the slums are focused on just surviving. Most people who put their head up… well, you were an agent, right? You know what happens to them. So we have a few groups who go into the city to help others like us, to get supplies and other things as needed, sometimes even attack... but it's not a lot."

Toni huffed as she folded her arms before her. "That wouldn't be a problem if the rest of you would help. If we had more people willing to actually _fight_, we could do more than just stealing a few supplies and saving the occasional paranormal!"

She received a scowl in response, Joe's expression darkening. "We're doing what we can! You're asking a lot, Miss Ipres! We don't _all_ have super powers here."

"I wouldn't call what we have super powers." Veser growled. "Some of us would rather be _without_ them. Or in case you've forgotten, half-breeds aren't exactly the most trusted Undesirables out there."

"Hey!" Hanna stomped a foot on the floor and jabbed a cookie at all of them. "What's with all the gloom and doom, guys? We finished the mission, we delivered the dragon safely, and no one was seriously hurt. We're all okay! Maybe things got a little messy, but we're _alive_, and that's the point, right?" His brilliant blue eyes gazed around at them all. "I am right, aren't I? Cheer up, guys. Come on, smile! We did a good job, didn't we, Miss Brown?"

"Indeed," the elderly woman said with a smile. "There's no sense in fighting amongst ourselves. You've all done the best you can and that's- oh!" Her clouded blue eyes widened as the creature in her arms stirred. "He's waking up!"

"Really!" Joe exclaimed excitedly as he leaped to his feet, then rushed for the door. "I'll get the supplies!"

Toni let out a sigh of relief as she slumped in her chair. "Well, I'm glad he's waking up. I was worried."

There came a low yawn as the beast in Miss Brown's arms stirred, a long scaled tail flopping over her thin arms as two bright yellow eyes blinked blearily up at her. "There you are, sweetie!" The older woman gushed, receiving a low grumbling noise in reply.

"Oooohhhh," Hanna leaned in close, grinning, "What's his name? What're you gonna name him?"

"That's a very good question," The woman chuckled as the creature licked at her fingertips. "Hm… how about Chase?"

"Sounds good to me," Joe laughed as he entered, carrying a variety of supplies. "Er, let me-"

"Oh, it can wait a few minutes, Joe!" Miss Brown huffed. "Honestly, he's in perfect shape, it's just a check up!"

Veser peered at the dragon, edged closer, and reached out a finger, "Do think it won't bite me now...?" The dragon snapped at him and he withdrew sharply. "Okay, maybe not."

Toni gave a laugh. "That's irony if I've ever heard it, given the way _you're_ always snapping at everyone," she snickered as she moved closer to peer at the dragon as well.

Veser grinned, showing all of his wickedly sharp teeth. "Baby, I'd snap you up anytime you asked for it."

Hanna snorted, "Veser, that was your worst line _yet_."

"Guys, there's a lady present," Joe groaned, which only made Miss Brown laugh.

The ex-agent stood apart from it all, simply watching everyone look over the dragon. He watched as Veser made another stupid line, and Toni shoved him, and Joe did his best to avoid all the chaos as he tried to help, and, of course, over it all came Miss Brown's laughter. It was strange how standard the whole image seemed, really. Again, it all boiled down to the strangely happy image of life he'd seen in the slums, of the sight of people just _living_.

He still wasn't entirely sure what to make of it, but he did know he loved it.

"See, this is why we do this." Hanna was suddenly at the agent's side, that familiar giant smile on his face. "So we can make people's lives better and make them smile. I'm sure that the more we do this, the better this world will get. Even if it's hard now, sometime or another, it's going to become a place where everyone can be happy and we won't have to save anyone and there won't be cages or walls or any of that."

Mahogany met blue for an instant, then the former agent smiled. "Yeah… that sounds really nice," he said as he looked back to the others. "Still… we're going to find a way to change this. I understand why we have to fight… but there needs to be more than this. You can't do it alone."

If it was possible, Hanna's smile widened even further. "I don't know what you're looking at, Auron, but we've got Toni, and Veser, and Worth, and Lamont, and Conrad, and you. See," The redhead looked back at the group still gathered around the dragon, "we're not alone. We never are."

The ex-agent blinked as his gaze went to the group, watching as Chase finally succeeded in catching Veser's finger. He then gave a soft chuckle and shook his head. "I suppose I can't argue with that."

Did he still have a few misgivings? Certainly. His job had always been to protect people, and he was aware that by taking the side he was now, he was sort of going against that. But he supposed as long as he could protect Hanna and the others…

Well, it was a start, and that was good enough for now.

* * *

Worth's reception to the group's return had been rather cheerful, all things considered.

"WHAT THE _FUCK_ DID I TELL YOU!" the doctor snarled out, his voice echoing through the factory. His thin hands were clenched into fists, the torn ends of his coat flaring out behind him as he stomped across the faded carpet that marked the living area of their 'base'. His yellowed teeth ground his cigarette in half, the bitten ends of his fingernails digging into the palms of his gloves.

"I don't see what your problem is," Toni huffed from her place on the couch, wincing as the springs dug into her back. "We _got_ the dragon to Miss Brown. She was happy, no harm done."

Worth was too wrapped up in his tirade to hear her. "YOU FUCKING BRAINLESS, COCKSUCKING, SHIT-FOR-BRAINS! How the _HELL_ did you manage to screw this shit up? IT WAS SO FUCKING SIMPLE!" he exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air. "YOU GODDAMN _MORONS_!"

"Geez, Worth, you don't have to yell," Hanna said. "Toni's right; we got the job done and, you know, nobody _died_ so I think we did good." And he looked up at the doctor with the most innocent grin he could muster.

There was a beat of silence. Then the doctor rounded on Hanna, eyes narrowing. Surprisingly, instead of yelling, he smirked. "…Yes, that's right. Nobody died. _Yet_. But if you think you're gonna be living for much longer after that little stunt you pulled," he hissed out as he prodded Hanna with an index finger. "You are in for one hell of a surprise, you little ginger-headed, shitfaced asshole. What the fuck were you thinking! How the hell did you manage CRAWLING INTO THE WRONG FUCKING CRATE!"

Hanna stared up at Worth with wide eyes and said in a nervous voice, "B-but it...was Conrad who -"

"Don't you even _think_ about pinning this on me!" hissed the vampire from where he was perched on the armchair, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. "This is all your fault! Yours, you hear me!" His dark eyes became angry slits behind his glasses. "You'll get what you deserve, you little shit." And he looked pointedly in the other direction.

Hanna looked at the back of Conrad's head for a moment and then back at Worth. "Aheh... um, well... it was an accident. Could have happened to anyone. You know how it is." He tried to smile again, shrugging as though it didn't matter.

"It really was an accident," the former agent put in from where he was standing, arms folded across his chest. "And I was able to find him easily enough."

The doctor scowled, not taking his eyes off of Hanna. "He's damn lucky you _did_ find him. Goddamn moron can't keep the cloud of stupidity that surrounds his head out of the picture for one fucking afternoon! Though really, he's got _nothing_ on our resident fucking dicks-for-brains over here!" the blond snapped as he turned to Veser. "I let you out of my sight for one damned second and suddenly you have to piss all over everything? What, were you trying to fucking compensate for something!"

"Hey, I got us out of there!" Veser shouted back, baring all his dagger sharp teeth. "If I hadn't blown a hole in that thing we'd all be in hands of the fucking Ahimsa thanks that moron over there!" And he pointed at Hanna, who looked a little hurt. "This isn't my fault! I wouldn't have had to blow everything sky high if Hanna hadn't fucked up so bad!"

"Don't you pin this on him, I was fucking listening!" the blond snarled as he stomped toward the half-selkie. "Hanna may have less brains than a fucking _zit_, but at least he didn't have the brilliant idea to _BLOW UP THE FUCKING ARK_! Did you just run out of displays of ridiculous machoism or something? Nothing says 'look at me, I'm an idiot delinquent from the streets' like blowing up a fucking _airship_, am I right! I'm sure all the little freshmen girls from your high school class _that you never went to_ be thrilled!"

Veser ground his teeth together, hands tightening into fists. "You wanna run that by me again, you old fart? I dare you to say that again. Just try it and see what happens." Those large green eyes were narrowed and glaring. "Because I'll kill you. And you'd better fuckin' believe it."

"H-hey, wait! No fighting!" Hanna pleaded, spreading his hands helplessly. "Please, guys, it's okay!"

"Shut up, Hanna!" Veser snapped. "You fucked up!" Hanna flinched and hunched his shoulders protectively. "Yeah, you know you fucked up, and you know this is your fault, so just shut your mouth!"

"Hey!" Toni spoke up, eyes narrowing. "Hanna did his best! And you know, it was my idea to attack the Ark, too! How about you _both_ stop pining for the title of Biggest Asshole and lay off of Hanna, huh!"

Worth scoffed. "Don't think I'm not blaming you either, sweetcheeks. I don't get why I keep sending you on these things, you always bite off more than you can chew. Though I guess I can't entirely blame you, this is the first time you've had _another girl_ on the line," he drawled, eyeing Conrad.

Conrad spun around in the chair with a snarl of rage. "Shut up! Leave me alone and out of this whole fucking mess! _They_ screwed up, okay! You heard the whole thing! God, I am so sick of this shit hole and every shitty person living in it!"

"But Connie..." Hanna began.

"No!" Conrad shrieked. "You shut up! Don't talk to me! _Nobody_ talk to me! Better yet, just leave me the fuck alone!" And he sunk low in the chair, scowling darkly at the wall.

The vampire's outburst actually kept Worth quiet for a moment. Then he snorted. "See what I had to deal with? Honestly, if you all hadn't gone and done this during that time of the month..."

A sigh came from the former agent. "Can't we all just admit that there were mistakes and let it go? After all, we did free quite a few paranormals. As far as things go, I would say we did well."

Toni snorted as she folded her arms before her. "This is how it always is, Eli. Trust me."

Worth rolled his eyes. "Well, it wouldn't _be_ so common if you'd all just fucking listen." He moved back to the center of the living area and stood glaring at the group. "I don't think you fucking get it. Did you idiots even _consider_ what could have happened? And for that matter, just how much attention you probably got for us? You could have risked the whole Goddamn resistance! Forget your own fucking necks, how about them, huh? N' that I particularly give a shit, but if they go down, what do you think happens to the rest of us, huh!" The blond fell silent after this, his words seeming to hang in the air like some sort of weight.

After a moment or two, Veser finally spat out, "Why do I care? Not like the fucking cowards do anything anyway. And you don't either, Worth, you just sit here and bitch about everything." The half-selkie stuffed his hands into his pockets and glowered at the blond man. "We did what we had to to get out alive. 'Nuff said."

Dark eyes met vibrant green and the doctor's next words came out as a growl: "Shut up, you ungrateful little brat. 'S got nothing to do with you all coming out alive, and fuck, I'll even admit that tin can blowing sky high isn't exactly some kind of loss. You all made it, sure. But you fucking nearly exposed everything to do it, and if they all go, so does our survival. Call 'em all cowards all you want, they're still watching out for your goddamn hide. Fuck if I know why, it's a _terrible_ job and I'd fucking know."

"We can't all fight, Ves," Hanna murmured. "I mean, not everyone's super strong and can pull of kick-ass moves. What about Ples? He risks everything to help us." The redhead shrugged and glanced at Worth. "And I know there's more people that have given up a lot more than that." He looked back at Veser. "We messed up real bad this time and we're really lucky we didn't screw everyone over and ruin everything." He smiled a little. "So... um... are we okay now?"

"No," Worth immediately snapped, raising one finger in the air as he turned to glower at the redhead. "I'm not fucking done! You all may have gotten out alive, but you _still_ didn't fucking listen to me and I-"

He was cut off by the door banging open and Lamont calling out, "Greetings and salutations, everyone. I bring tidings of - uh-oh." The dark haired man stopped halfway across the room, eyes moving over everyone in the room. "What's going on? Hanna, what did you do?"

"What!" The redhead shouted. "Why do you automatically think it was me! I didn't do anything!"

"I'm starting to get the impression it's _always_ you, actually," the former agent put in dryly.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Hanna asked, raising an eyebrow and attempting to look offended, even though there was a smile on his face.

"Maybe I'm a sleeper agent," his partner said with a smile of his own.

"Stop that," Worth grumbled as he folded his arms. "The fucking prodigal sons have returned, 'Mont, and after yesterday I-"

"Yes, okay, I get it. They're terrible children that really shouldn't go anywhere by themselves and they should all be grounded for the rest of their lives. Yada-yada-yada-yada." Lamont rolled his eyes and held up an armful of take-out boxes. "Right, now that we've got that settled, I brought Chinese!"

"All right! Chinese!" Veser hooted, forgetting his earlier anger and diving forward to snatch a box from Lamont's hands. "Oh man, you went to That One Chinese Place, right? And you got the sushi, right?"

"Food!" Hanna cried, trying to get to the boxes as well. "Lamont, you're the greatest! Hey, where's mine? Did you bring one for Goya? What did you get me? Did you get my favorite?"

"Hey!" Worth snapped, trying to get everyone's attention. "I'm not finished with you fuckers yet!"

He went ignored as Toni hopped off the couch and moved to check the boxes. "Please tell me you didn't get me the Chop Seuy again. You _know_ what's in that…"

"I learned my lesson." Lamont promised, handing the werewolf a box. "Veser, Hanna, back off, you'll get yours in a moment. Sit boys."

"And, _of course_, there's nothing for me." Conrad snapped and stood up, stalking out of the room to no doubt raid the fridge for some blood.

The former agent watched the vampire stomp off, then turned to Toni. "Er… 'That One Chinese Place'?"

"We don't know the actual name; the sign fell down ages ago, and the neon burned out way before that." The werewolf shrugged as she took one of the takeout boxes from Lamont. "But hey, it's the best we can afford, and we have to celebrate surviving our missions somehow, right?"

"Ah."

"_Hey_!" Worth barked again. "Damnit 'Mont, stop distracting them, I'm fucking talking here!"

"Were you?" The dealer said casually, smiling cooly as he handed Hanna and Veser each a take-out box. "I hadn't noticed."

His friend gaped at him for a moment, his eye giving a twitch. Then his gnarled teeth snapped together. "_'Mont_, I'm about t' make that ugly mug of yours a whole lot uglier," he growled out as he stomped toward the dark-haired man, hands clenching into fists. "If you're not gonna fucking help me…"

"Was there some paperwork I missed somewhere that said I was supposed to be your slave?" Lamont asked, turning towards Worth. "Calm down, shut up, and eat your Worth Special." And then, he shoved one of the boxes into the doctor's hands.

There was a beat of silence as the doctor blinked down at box in his hands. He then let out a smoky breath, making a point of blowing it into the dealer's face. "…_Fine_. But this isn't over," he grunted as he moved away, clutching his box. "When I'm done, I'm jamming these damn chopsticks down your fucking windpipe."

Lamont chuckled. "Of course you will. I'm so glad we're friends." He turned away from Worth to face the former agent, holding out the remaining box. "And one for the Hanna Watcher. Keeping you on your toes, isn't he?"

The ex-agent cracked a smile as he took the box. "You could say that."

"Hey guys!" Hanna shouted, his energy back full force now that he had food in his grasp. "Let's go to the roof! It's tradition! Race you!" And, with that, he raced away at full speed.

"Last one there's cleaning the bathrooms next time we do chores!" Veser shouted before he took off after Hanna.

Toni gave a groan. "You can't be serious! I'm not-" She was cut off by Hanna's partner suddenly blowing past her at a sort of brisk walk. "Eli? You're joining in on this?"

"Never again," was all the former agent said as he took the stairs, ignoring the way they wobbled under his weight. He just kept his eyes on Hanna and Veser as the two spend up three flights of stairs, pausing only when they got to an old, rusted door.

"I'm first!" Veser shouted.

"No you're not!" Hanna shouted back, trying to push the half-selkie out of the way as they fought over the handle.

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

The door burst open with a bang, and the two of them stumbled out onto the roof, almost spilling their meals all over one another in the process. The ex-agent followed, and the sight that lay before him left him speechless for a moment.

For what lay before him was the sea. There was a pile of junk and what appeared to be more rotting carpet rolls in the lot behind the factory, but after that there was only the ocean. There was also the night sky, which was seemingly a whole new world that towered above them; a second ocean filled with billions of twinkling lights. The water was barred from the night sky only by the wall that surrounded Varuna, a thick line of black that, while present, could almost be ignored in favor of the rest of the view. The sea stretched out from the trash-laden shore, a blanket of reflected light from the full moon. It seemed to reach out into infinity, a word the ex-agent had never really considered before. To a man who was so used to being surrounded by buildings, the sight was awe-inspiring.

"…Wow," he breathed out.

"Voltaire! Hey, come sit by me!" Hanna was perched on the edge of the roof, his Chinese take-out clutched in one hand as he waved to the former agent with the other. Veser was sitting on his other side, busily stuffing himself on his supper.

The ex-agent nodded as he carefully stepped around what seemed to be a pile of dirt and a few empty flowerpots, narrowly avoiding running into an ancient lawn chair before he reached the edge of the roof. "You haven't taken me up here before," he observed as he sat down next to Hanna.

"Worth tries to keep these two busy so they won't come up here," Toni drawled as she flopped down into one of the lawn chairs. "I think he's worried they'll trip and fall over the edge or something."

This got a furrowed brow from Hanna's partner. "But Hanna can fly..."

Green eyes met his and Toni smirked. "Do you _really_ think that would stop him from getting injured?"

"…Good point."

"You ever seen the ocean before, Kamina?" Hanna asked, stirring up his noodles, meat, and who knew what else with his chopsticks.

The ex-agent shook his head. "My rounds never took me this far out. I've seen pictures, but never the real thing," he said as he took a bite of his chicken. "It's very different than in the pictures."

Toni nodded. "I heard it's a lot better without all the trash around it, but I wouldn't know." She shrugged as she took a bite of her food, then made a face. "Ugh, synthetic veggies again. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like to have the real thing."

"But Toni, what about our garden?" Hanna pointed over his shoulder at a rectangular box stuffed with what looked like dirt, with a few wooden stakes leaning in it, and what _could_ have been plants desperately trying to poke their way through. Said plants were strings that simply oozed pathetic; crooked and tiny, their leaves shriveled, and if there were fruits or vegetables on them, they were too small to be visible.

"…Oh," the former agent said absently. So _that_ was what that had been.

"Er. Yeah, that. Well, you know, I'll try the veggies whenever you manage to coax them out, ahaha," Toni said with a weak laugh, trying to resist grimacing at the "garden" in question.

"When all the veggies come up," Hanna said excitedly, kicking his feet out back and forth into empty space, "I'm going to make a stew. Because that's what you're supposed to do with vegetables, right? Make a stew."

"Dude, you can't even make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich," Veser pointed out with a smirk, "I wouldn't eat your stew if it was the last thing on earth."

"All you eat is fish anyway." Hanna teased back and then laughed as the half-selkie scowled at him before he turned to his partner. "Hey, Axiom, what's your favorite food?"

"Um…" The ex-agent blinked, pausing in munching. "I… you know, I never really thought about it. I like… soup, I guess?"

A snort came from the stairwell. "Seriously? What kind of idiot doesn't know what _food_ he likes?" Worth drawled as he made his way over to a lawn chair that was almost as dirty as his coat. "What, are the Ahimsa _that_ against individuality or somethin'?"

The former agent shrugged as he glanced back at the doctor. "Yes, actually. The more you stand out there, the more likely you are to disappear. It becomes second nature after awhile."

"Tragic," The doctor grunted as he shoveled noodles, meat, and _something_ gray into his mouth, then proceeded to take a large swig of some sort of alcohol.

"Says the man who couldn't blend in with a crowd to save his life." Lamont said, emerging from the stairs with his own box of Chinese and taking the lawn chair beside Worth's. He glanced over his shoulder at the open door. "Come on, we're not going to throw you off the roof."

Conrad stepped out into the night, a bag of blood clutched in his hand, and looked up at the stars before settling himself onto a lawn chair beside Toni, looking apprehensive.

Toni giggled at Conrad's expression. "You seem nervous. Don't worry, Worth's always an ass after every mission. It's nothing personal, you did fine."

There was a growl from over a steaming Chinese box. "It is _too_ fucking personal! And it wouldn't be if you'd just -"

"Worth would like to say he thinks you did a good job too, and he's sorry he's being so rude," the werewolf cut him off without so much as blinking.

Conrad rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure that's _exactly_ what he means, considering the abuse he dished out on me for the past two days because of all the trouble you guys got into." And he bit down into the blood bag, glaring angrily out into the ocean.

Toni outright laughed at this, shaking her head. "Sorry about that. You really did do a good job, though."

"It's true, I don't think we would have gotten out without you," the former agent said as he prodded at his noodles. He then made a face. "Er… I think I just saw something move… is that normal?"

"Oh hey, maybe you got a prize!" Hanna leaned over, peering into the ex-agent's box. "I got a prize once! Worth told my they're good to eat! If you catch it you should eat it!" And he beamed at his companion innocently.

His partner grimaced; he was fairly sure he'd just seen the scuttling of a cockroach. "Er… I'm… actually still feeling full after those cookies," he said as he pushed the box away.

"Are you sure you don't want to finish that? Really?" Hanna looked eagerly at the food, "Can I have it? Oooh, can I?"

"Dude, like you don't eat enough already!" Veser cut in. "Split it with me!"

"You can both have it," the former agent sighed before glancing back at Conrad. "Seriously though, thank you. You did really well."

A rare and shaky smile traced itself over Conrad's face, and he lowered the blood bag. "Thanks, Eli. I... well, I was really...nervous for a while there and I'm..." He swallowed and licked a bit of blood off his lips. "I'm glad you're back okay and... alive."

"Yeah, yeah, don't let it get to your heads," Worth snapped, cutting off the ex-agent's reply. "You survived, congradu-fucking-lations. Move th' fuck on already."

There was a moment of silence after this, punctuated only by the sounds of everyone chewing. Then came the question from Hanna, off-hand and obviously curious.

"What do you think is on the other side of the wall?"

"…Huh?" Toni was the first to vocalize her confusion.

"The fuck are you on about?" Worth grunted from his lawn chair.

"I dunno." Hanna shrugged. "I was just looking out at the ocean and then I started thinking about it. So I was just wondering; what's on the other side of the wall?"

"Probably hot Amazon babes," Veser muttered.

Toni gave a snort at this. "Somehow I doubt that, Veser," she said as she set down her now empty box of Chinese and gazed out at the sea, manicured fingers threading together in her lap. "…I don't know. When I was in high school, we had all these theories about it. I always figured maybe there was still some nature left out there. You know… trees. Open spaces. Maybe some actual free animals. But the more I think about it, the sillier it seems, since I'm pretty sure the plague killed most of that off…"

"It doesn't sound that silly," Lamont mused. "I think it's a dream we all have, isn't it? As children, the wall seems so mysterious, and we were so curious to know what was on the other side. But the older we got, the more we just accepted that it was just a wall and we could only ever imagine what's on the other side."

"Probably a dead and rotting wasteland with poison gases and empty spaces," Conrad muttered, scrunching up his empty pack of blood.

"Wow, Connie, way to be a pessimist," Hanna said, but he was still smiling when he turned to the former agent sitting at his side. "So Roland, what do _you_ think is on the other side of the wall?"

His partner's brow furrowed. "I…" he trailed off, then shook his head as he gazed out at the water. "I've never really thought about it. We were always taught that everything was destroyed during the war, and whatever survived was killed in the plague. Part of our job was always to keep people away from the wall… but in retrospect, I'm really not sure _why_."

"See!" Hanna said eagerly. "That's what I mean! Why keep people away from the wall if there's nothing on the other side? If there's nothing there, why go through so much trouble to make us believe the wall's dangerous? So if you think about," The redhead's brilliant blue eyes were sparkling with excitement as he continued, "That means there's _got_ to be something over on the other side! Something amazing! It's probably a jungle with leopards and giant ants! Or this huge field of flowers! And there's no more cages or rules or anything on the other side! Everyone's free to do whatever they want and be whoever they want! Everyone would be happy!"

Worth gave a snort at this. "Seriously? What kind of a gayass idea is that?" he muttered as he put his feet up on the exterior of one of the rusted exhaust fans. "It's not some fucking magical fantasy land where all your dreams will come true, dumbass. There's nothing there."

Lamont burst out laughing. "Worth, I swear you exist solely for the purpose to crush the hopes and dreams of small children!"

"I'm twenty-four!" Hanna shouted indignantly, and then glared at Veser, who had joined in Lamont's laughter.

The doctor shook his head as he pulled the usual crumpled box from his coat pocket, though a smirk flitted across his face. "You're damn right I do. But tha's not the point." Here he paused to light his latest cancer stick, the flame of his lighter casting shadows across his long face for a moment. "'S just bein' realistic. Think about it, the sky's fucking _yellow_ half the time. D'ya really think anything outside of the city's survived?" Here he looked to Lamont and rose a brow. "We're surviving on synthetic shit for a reason, you know that."

"No reason not to dream," Hanna muttered in reply, hunching his shoulders as though he could ward off Worth's criticism. "Besides, just because we're eating synthetic food _in here_ doesn't mean there's not real food _out there_. So what if the sky's yellow? It doesn't mean a thing."

"As much as I hate to agree with him, he has a point," Conrad said. "Even if the sky was green in the day and purple at night or something like that, the government would still find a way to twist it to what they want, in a way that they can use to manipulate people." He crossed his arms across his chest, frowning as he thought aloud, "The government controls everything inside the inner circle. They could probably tell people the world was flat and they'd believe it."

"You used to be one of those morons," Veser pointed out with a grin.

"Shut your face or I'll shut it for you," Conrad growled.

"I think there's no way to say for sure," the former agent spoke up with a shrug. "I mean… certainly, things look bad. But I saw the truth… who's to say others can't as well?"

Hanna grinned. "We'll show them all. We'll prove to them that what we're doing is right and that the government is nothing but a manipulative jerks!" The redhead leapt to his feet and thrust his chopsticks at the starry sky, proclaiming, "We _will_ stop the Council! And then we'll break the wall down and live in freedom forever!"

"No one else is gonna do it!" Veser cried, showing all of his dangerously sharp teeth. "So we'll do it! We'll blow that fucking wall sky high!"

Lamont laughed. "Sure guys, whatever you say."

"Delusional morons," Conrad muttered, but there was an amused smile on his face.

Toni flashed a smile as she brought her knees up to her chest. "No kidding. But hey… we have to try, right?"

The ex-agent nodded as he looked out across the ocean. "Yeah," he murmured, his words barely audible. They did have to try. Sure, it was only them against the world. Sure, it seemed like nothing.

But as he looked to Hanna, he couldn't help but think that if anything could bring the world to its knees, it would be that smile.

He had to believe that.

The group sat in silence for a bit, simply taking in the weight of Hanna's words. They seemed to spread out like the ocean before them, vast and terrifying, not without waves… but surmountable, somehow.

"You're all a bunch of fags," Worth finally grunted.

In that single instant, the moment was gone. Lamont was cracking up at the doctor's side along with Veser, Conrad was scowling, and Toni was snickering something about ruined moments. The former agent just shook his head before glancing to Hanna, mahogany meeting brilliant blue as the redhead beamed.

Were they all a mess? Certainly. But they were together and they were trying.

That was enough for now.

* * *

Anya Borovsky was not happy.

It was evident in everything, from her rigid step to the thin line of her otherwise full lips, that she had always been an angular woman, from her straight back to the triangular bob of her hair. But something about her seemed more rigid than usual.

And her frigid blue gaze was fixed on the door at the other end of the labs, so the scientists were all pretty sure who was at fault.

One scientist scrambled from his chair, glasses going askew as he struggled to put his papers into some semblance of order. Why did Lady Borovsky always visit when they seemed to be the least organized! "A-ah, Captain-"

"Is he in?" She demanded, her tone clipped and heavily accented.

"Ah, yes, but he's-"

"_He_ is never busy." She interrupted in a disregarding manner, sweeping past him in a click of high-heeled boots and sending dozens of poor underlings rushing to their desks. They were a flurry of papers and white coats, all seeming nearly as sterile as the white walls and the glittering holoscreens that flickered across the desks. One doctor in particular flattened himself against one of the test chambers, only to let out a yelp as his apparent subject - a chimera - bashed against the glass wall.

She probably thought they were useless.

She would be right.

When she finally arrived at the door in question, she jerkily brushed her fingers across the thumbpad. The instant the door opened, she swept into an office that was messier than the rest of the labs combined, her movement sending some of the papers within scattering.

"Explain yourself," she hissed without introduction as the door shut behind her.

"Anya, is that you?" Ellis was swinging lazily back and forth is his chair, his feet up his desk, folding a paper airplane in his hands. "I didn't hear you knock. How have you been lately?"

She looked like she was fighting the urge to let her fingers curl into fists. "That is _Captain Borovsky_ to you," she snapped. "And I have not been doing well, considering you have been letting your science experiments run rampant in my city!"

"Oh, been caught up, have you?" The doctor flicked his wrist and sent the paper airplane spiraling across his desk to crash into the opposite wall. "Don't worry about it, _Anya_, everything's under control. They're being watched. Carefully."

Frigid blue glared icily at the doctor for a moment before Anya slammed her palms across the desk. "That is not the point, _Doctor_. It was the order of the council that the instant you found that _monster_, you were to report it to the Ahimsa so that we could _do our job_!"

"I would kindly like to remind you," Ellis said smoothly, standing up and smiling cooly at the furious captain. "That even though you may control the Ahimsa, I am still your boss." The smile widened. "So I would very much like it if you did not insult my work."

The woman glared at him for another moment. Then she let out a sigh and stood up straight again, adjusting the grey jacket of her military uniform. "Be that as it may, _Sir_," the word was spoken as an insult as she brushed a strand of short, dark hair out of her face. "I understand that your mind filled with little more than hot air, but surely you remember your agreement with the council? You're fortunate your project isn't in the trash where it belongs."

Ellis' eyes narrowed slightly. "My work is vital to the future of Varuna. The Council understands that, and your backtalk is becoming an annoyance. The _project_ is fine. I know _exactly_ what I'm doing." He tossed a hand through the air dismissively. "We watch the subject for a while longer, see what sort of state it's in, and only on _my command_ do we make a move to retrieve it." The cool, superior smile returned. "Do I make myself perfectly clear, Anya?"

The captain was still looking at him as if she wanted the doctor six feet under. Had Ellis been any other man, her height combined with that stare would have made him cower. But of course, Ellis was not normal, and so there was little she could do. "…Crystal, sir," Anya finally murmured, hands clenching into fists. "But need I remind you, while you sit here at your desk playing scientist, some of us have an actual job to do. The Ahimsa protects our citizens, Doctor Ellis, and your little experiment and his friends are the most wanted Undesirables in Varuna. You may be doing your job, Doctor, but need I remind you, I need to do _mine_. Some of my men were hurt yesterday because of your negligence."

Ellis appeared to pout for a moment or two and then he shrugged. "Fine. Do your job. Protect the city, arrest people for walking on the sidewalk against traffic, throw them in jail for looking at the sky too long, I don't care. But I am _ordering_ you... do not interfere with my research; do not harm it, do not get in its way, do not touch it." Ellis leaned casually against his desk, "A few people might get hurt, but a few people hardly matter to the glory that will be Varuna."

Anya scowled at him. However, after a moment, a thought seemed to occur to her. "…Doctor. You knew Subject Thirteen and the others would be on The Ark. If that is the case, will you be able to predict their next location as well?"

The man blinked at her and then laughed, "Oh, Anya, it's not your place to worry about such things. But, if you really want to know..." He grinned, a sly and 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' sort of grin. "Yes, I do know where they're going next."

His subordinate rolled her eyes at his attitude, but continued. "In that case… you wish to study Subject Thirteen. The others do not matter… so would a raid on my part be unreasonable? Capturing them would be far easier would Thirteen out of the picture, at any rate…" She quirked one perfect, straight-lined brow as she gazed down at Ellis.

"Hmmmm," Ellis ran a hand through his messy, dark brown hair, frowning slightly. "Well, I don't see why not. I was going to send someone after them anyway."

"…Someone?" Anya prompted, brow furrowing.

"Oh, you know," Ellis swept another paper off his desk and folded it into another paper airplane, "Subjects Eleven and Twelve..." He tossed the paper airplane and it loop-de-looped upwards before drifting down lazily to land on the floor.

The captain promptly went completely rigid, her blue eyes widening. It took her a moment to draw the breath needed to say her next words. "But… but... your report said that they were unstable!"

The man shrugged, "Well, technically, they're _all_ a little unstable..." He bent down, picked up the crashed air plane and frowned at it. "Man, I really suck at this."

Anya grit her teeth. "You understand what I mean! What if something happens! What if-!"

"Shhhh!" Ellis hissed suddenly, holding a finger to the smile on his lips. "Spoilers."

His subordinate let out what sounded a bit like a growl. She then shook her head, turned and made her way for the door. "Very well. Keep me in the dark. But I expect to be informed regarding the others and I expect this mission to go well. I may be your subordinate, but even _you_ must answer to the Council. Do I make myself clear?"

"Don't worry about a thing, Captain." Ellis mock-saluted with that usual, superior smile.

"Just leave Subject Thirteen to me."


	12. Interlude Veser

_Veser's life before he joined the rebels. Written completely by myself.

* * *

_

**INTERLUDE - VESER**

* * *

It had started out good.

But things always seemed to start out good.

So Veser Hatch had thought that his story was just like that. It had started out good so therefore it had to end good.

He'd lived in a middle class home with a middle class life with his middle class parents. And they had been happy, for the most part. Veser didn't know the whole story but from what he understood, his father had found his mother-a selkie-fleeing from the Ahimsa in the slums. He'd promised to protect her if she gave him her pelt, the key to her transformation from human to seal. Desperate and not knowing what else to do, she'd agreed. From that day forward, Veser's father had kept their existence a secret from the government.

And Veser had been happy.

He hadn't understood the whispers from the adults about the burning buildings and writing on the walls that had flashed across the holoscreens. All he had understood was that, no, Veser, those teeth are not for biting, you are not supposed to bite your classmates. What else was there to life than a place to sleep, food on table, a place to play, and a family that loved him?

Until a week after his sixteenth birthday.

He'd gotten home from school and was sitting at the kitchen table, doing his homework, listening to his mother sing as she'd worked on supper. It had seemed like an average day; school had been the same, the ride home the same, the homework was the same, everything was the same. He was restless with the normalcy of it, the monotone day-after-day routine, but he could live with it. After all, his life was pretty much perfect.

So he had sat there, doing his homework, listening to his mother sing, content. He'd glanced up when the singing had stopped to see his father giving his mother a lovely kiss. And he'd turned away, smirking to himself, only to look back up again when he heard his mother say that she needed to return to the sea. His father had refused. They had begun arguing.

Veser could only sit there, staring. He'd never seen his parents fight before. It was almost scary. And he did get a little scared when his father hit his mother and she fell back with a cry. And the his father had turned his gaze to Veser and demanded to know if he was going to run off as well. Veser couldn't find his voice, he couldn't speak, couldn't answer. And apparently that was enough for his father because his fist came down and he was suddenly hitting Veser and yelling at him that it was his fault and Veser couldn't understand why.

What was going on? Why was this happening? Why was his father _hitting_ them? Was this what humans were really like underneath?

Veser couldn't wrap his mind around it and the blows from his father were aching and his ears rang with his mother's pleas and the shouting. He was so confused, so hurt, that he finally just wanted it to stop. So he bit his father.

Normally this wouldn't have been a problem but Veser wasn't a normal child. He had selkie blood running through his veins, giving him large, neon green eyes and a nasty set of dangerously sharp teeth. So when he bit his father, he drew blood.

Silence reigned for a moment or two and then Mr. Hatch was grabbing for the phone with his good hand, screaming into it that a couple of Undesirables had attacked him in his home. Veser's mother grabbed him and tried to drag him from the room and Veser could only stumble after her, dazed. He knew what his father was doing, he was calling the Ahimsa. And he knew what Ahimsa did, they hunted Undesirables. And his father-the man who had raised and protected him and his mother for years-had just turned them over to the Ahimsa.

It had been a nightmare. His mother was screaming and trying to escape before the law could arrive. But the Ahimsa had come through the front door and Veser had been shouting, and his father had been shouting, and his mother had been screaming, and the Ahimsa were all shouting too.

Then the guns had gone off. The air had cracked and lights had flashed and his mother's grip had loosened and she'd fallen to the floor.

Veser had stared at her, sprawled there, so limp in death, dark crimson blood pooling beneath her. His mind couldn't seem to focus. His large eyes traveled from his lifeless mother to the Ahimsa, their weapons still aimed at him. And that's when it had finally settled in.

His father had betrayed them.

His mother was dead.

And these Ahimsa would kill him too unless he ran.

They were aiming the guns at him now and telling him to get down on the floor. Veser glared at them, hot anger and fear bubbling up inside him. With an incoherent cry, he charged them, knocking them aside as he tore down the hall and towards the stairs. He heard shouting and the sound of a gun being fired but he didn't look back. He just kept going. Terror and hurt and pain blazed in his mind as his feet carried him down the sidewalk; his home was gone, his mother was gone, his father might as well be gone. There was only one place left he could think of to go.

He slammed into the familiar apartment door and pounded a fist on it, calling out for Lee Fauln to answer. The man-a friend of Veser's father-had answered the door, looking a little confused, and had asked Veser what the problem was.

Veser felt something inside him turn inside out and his eyes had swam with tears, hot and burning. He fell against the man he almost considered an uncle, fingers clutching tight onto Lee's shirt, tears streaming down his face. Lee had hauled him inside and sat him down and Veser had told the man the whole story. At first, Lee had been furious and wanted to storm back to the house and give Veser's father a piece of his mind. But one look at the distraught expression on the young Veser's face changed his mind. There was a half-selkie that needed to be taken care of.

A day went by without incident. Veser stayed inside; did not return to school, did not even venture towards the windows.

Another day passed. Lee remained with Veser, a comforting hand on his shoulder, someone to lean on.

Half way through the third day, the Ahimsa found them.

The door burst open and Lee had dove for Veser, grabbing the half-selkie's shirt and dragging him out of the way. The Ahimsa had ordered them to stop and to get down on the floor. Lee had not stopped, even when Veser's legs had given out from underneath him, the man kept dragging him onward.

There had been heading towards the window; being on second floor, the worst that could happen was a couple of bruises. Lee had turned to comfort Veser when his eyes had widened in panic. Veser looked around to Ahimsa leveling a gun at him. He'd opened his mouth to scream and suddenly Lee was there in front of him and there was a bang. Lee fell to the floor and did not get up again. Veser had screamed at the man to run but Lee had not moved. Would never move again. And unless he wanted to end up the same way, Veser needed to run. Again.

It had been a short chase. Lee had been right about the window; especially with the aid of a hoverboard, it was the perfect escape route. Veser had charged down the streets, ignoring the automated warnings telling him that hoverboarding was prohibited in undesignated areas. People cursed him, called him names, screamed at him. He ignored them too and headed right for the gate to the slums. Where else could he go? No where. He was alone.

He hid in an abandoned shack for four hours straight, crying until he ran out of tears, his insides aching with hunger and loss. He thought about his mother, dead on the floor. He thought about his father's betrayal. He thought about Lee, dead to save his life. And the half-selkie realized something:

You could not trust humans.

They were selfish, full of anger and hatred and jealousy. And they were stupid. They were stupid and they did stupid things. Like sacrifice themselves for people who didn't deserve it.

And that was how The Gang had found him. Holed up in that "shit hole" as they'd called it, depressed, alone, and angry. At first he'd been wary of them; they were a group of rowdy Undesirables, not a human in the bunch. But they were offering him food, shelter, and the company of fellow outcasts. Veser left with them, not knowing where else to go.

Those had been dangerous times. They had robbed, cheated, beaten, and destroyed anyone who had gotten in their way, ruling the slums with terror and money. Veser quickly became an expert in pickpocketing and explosives. This was power, this was what life was supposed to be like; taking what he wanted whenever he wanted it and blowing the hell out of everything around him.

And then the Ahimsa had ruined it all over again.

There was a part of Veser that seemed to say, "I told you it was too good to be true." as he and the rest of The Gang tore through the streets, running from the raiding Ahimsa. Someone had finally gotten fed up and called in the law on them and now they were running for their lives. Veser wasn't scared, though; he trusted these guys to get him out alive.

That was the final blow.

They were being cornered, slowly losing any hope of escape. The others were getting angry and restless, fearing capture. Veser suggested they just stand and fight instead of running like cowards; they were only Ahimsa, a few lousy humans! The rest of The Gang had agreed and they'd created a plan. Veser would stand at the end of an alley way, back against the wall, looking as though he was trapped. When the Ahimsa came around to attack, the rest of The Gang would jump them and it would be "bye-bye Ahimsa bitches"!

Veser eagerly agreed and took his position at a dead-end alley, waiting for the Ahimsa. They didn't take long to show up and as soon as they'd moved close enough, Veser shouted for his comrades to attack.

But no one had come.

He'd screamed and shouted and cursed but no one had come.

The Ahimsa tackled him to the ground, cuffed him, and started dragging him away. Veser had struggled with all his might, snarling and begging. And as he'd thrashed around, his gaze had found The Gang, safely hidden on the roof of a building, watching the whole thing go down. He'd been their scapegoat. There had been no plan to jump the Ahimsa, those cowards were too scared to do something like that. So they'd left Veser to be swallowed alive by the government.

That was it.

The last straw.

Whatever sort of faith, compassion, or decency Veser had had towards any living thing was squashed in a single instant. He could not trust anyone. If they weren't going to die, then they would just betray him. So why bother? Why bother liking anyone? Why bother making friends? They would just stab you in the back, they would just waste away with time and die. It was pointless. Better to live on your own, never having to lean on anyone. Because sooner or later they would just leave you anyway.

He'd spent a year in the Ahimsa's "correctional facilities" before finally managing to break out and sneak back into the slums. And he never looked back. He'd zipped up his coat, shouldered his hoverboard and did what he could to survive. On his own. He'd lived on the streets, sleeping in doorways or under overhangs, picking pockets and stealing food from stalls at the market, and running from the law if they raided the slums.

That was how he had met Hanna Falk Cross.

It was a cold and wet day and Veser had been huddled in a lonely back alley with the hood of his coat up, tucked underneath a bundle of rotted blankets and rusty metal beams he called a shelter. His knees were drawn up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs, shivering from hunger and cold.

A loaf of bread had suddenly appeared in his vision. He followed the length of the bread to a hand, then an arm, a shoulder, and then his gaze had settled on a smile unlike anything he'd seen in almost two years. Bright red hair was a sharp contrast to the dark gloom of the storm clouds overhead, sparkling blue eyes stared at him from behind thick glasses, and that brilliant smile was a wonder all in itself.

The redhead had gestured with the bread, offering it to Veser, saying how the half-selkie probably needed it more anyway and he could find something elsewhere and, hey, it's not poison or anything. So Veser had snatched the bread and had started gnawing on it with his sharp teeth and the redhead had commented on how awesome Veser's teeth were and would probably have said more if Veser hadn't demanded to know what the redhead wanted.

Then came that laugh. It was so... happy. The redhead had laughed and introduced himself as Hanna Cross and asked if Veser wanted to join 'The Justice League"; to become a member of the resistance fighting against the government.

Veser stared at him. Stared at that wide, innocent smile, stared at those incredibly blue eyes, stared at this person-this obvious outcast of society, this _human_-and had given a prompt and solid answer of "no, now fuck off". Then he'd gotten to his feet and ran off into the gloom, the bread still in his hand, before the redhead had a chance to say anything.

But Hanna would not leave him alone.

Veser seemed to run into him everywhere. At the market when he was trying to swipe some food for dinner, the annoying little redhead would pop up and ask him to join 'Love and Peace and Doughnuts' or whatever name he was calling the rebel group that day. And Veser would decline with a polite, "Piss off you little bastard." and take off again.

It seemed like Hanna would track him down wherever he went and no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to lose the guy. It was getting on his nerves. Why did this idiot keep bothering him? Didn't he get the meaning of the word no? The next time he saw him, Veser decided, he was going to punch the moron in the mouth.

But the next time Veser saw Hanna was not the best time to deal out said punishment. The half-selkie had been asleep when an Ahimsa raid had gone through the slums. Someone had grabbed him roughly by the collar of his shirt and shaken him awake and he's found himself face to face with an Ahimsa agent. Panicked, Veser did the first thing he could think of- he kicked the man between the legs.

The Ahimsa agent dropped him with a cry of pain and Veser bolted. But now there was a whole slew of agents on his tail. The half-selkie jumped mid-stride and in the same motion, swung his hoverboard from over his shoulder and under his feet, kicking off with a sound like a vacuum. Neon green light streamed out behind him as he weaved through the slums, jumping pot holes and ducking low-hanging piping. A shot rang out and nicked the edge of his board, sending it spinning.

Heart racing, Veser threw his arms out and leaned his weight to the side, trying to straighten himself. He collided hard with something and he and whatever he'd hit rolled through the dirt and grime, grunting and struggling. When he'd managed to orient himself, Veser locked gazes with a pair of familiar, brilliant blue eyes.

Hanna had found him again, and the first thing out of his mouth was that same irritating question.

Veser had cursed him as he'd gotten to his feet, dusting himself off and snatching up his hoverboard. How could this idiot be so nonchalant when there was a fucking _raid_ going on! And he'd asked that, shouted it, really, at the top of his voice. He was frustrated beyond all reason with this stupid redhead.

The stupid redhead had opened his mouth to answer but a couple of Ahimsa agents had rounded the corner then and shouted at them to put their hands up. Neither of them did so. Veser kicked his hoverboard back to life and shot off down the street. But a second before he took off, a pair of hands grabbed the back of his coat and he found himself towing along a laughing Hanna Cross.

More curses. Veser desperately tried to get his hoverboard to speed up but with the extra weight, it just wasn't making it. Angry and scared, Veser had looked over his shoulder simply for the pleasure of baring all of his sharp teeth at the idiot in a threatening manner. Hanna only pointed past him with an incoherent shout of concern.

Veser looked around in time to see one of the slums biggest (and oldest) skyscrapers towering ahead of them. No time to avoid it and there was no doubt Ahimsa agents waiting in the backstreets, ready to pluck him up. He crouched down, grabbed the front lip of his hoverboard and pulled it up a split second before they hit the wall, riding up it vertically, heading for the sky.

He'd almost forgotten about the little shit still clinging to him until Hanna had started whining and slipping, rambling something about not having enough time to "charge" and begging to be helped.

Veser almost wanted to let the idiot fall and good riddance, to hell with him. But for some reason he had looked back anyway. Wide blue eyes were staring at him, begging for help, red hair tossed by the wind. Veser locked gazes with the rebel and saw the pleading look and for a moment he'd remembered the time he'd had that look on his face. He reached for Hanna's hand.

The front of the hoverboard hit something-a loose stone, a piece of metal, the lip of a window?-and front flipped, tossing its passengers into the air. The scream had been ripped from Veser's throat before he could stop it, arms flailing, trying to find something to latch onto. It was strange, almost; first he had been falling up and now he was falling down and he could see the ground and they had to be almost nine-maybe ten-stories off the ground and he was so scared every part of him was numb and he thought for sure he was going to die.

Someone grabbed his arm and he jerked to a halt, his breath coming quick as he stared down at the ground, watching his hoverboard spin downwards, trailing neon lights. He lifted his gaze and saw Hanna Cross, one hand clamped tightly around a metal support beam and the other holding onto Veser. And he was still smiling.

"What the hell are you smiling about you stupid fuck?" Veser had screamed, voice shaking with fear, "We're hanging off the side of a skyscraper some ten stories off the ground!" Voices filtered up from below and suddenly bullets were whizzing past them, "And now the fucking Ahimsa are _shooting at us_! How the fuck can you be smiling?"

"Join the resistance and I'll save you." Hanna had said simply, completely ignoring the bullets flying around them.

Veser gaped at him and then screeched, "My God, you fucking blackmailing piece of shit! I cannot _believe_ you!" A shot barely missed his arm and he could stop the whimper of terror that escaped him, "Fine! I'll join your stupid rebel group! Just get us out of here!"

"Okay." Hanna had replied, "Hold on tight."

And he'd let go of the piece of metal.

Veser didn't know if he had screamed or not, the wind roaring by them seemed to be tearing the very breath from his throat. Everything was blurred and there was this sickeningly hollow sensation in his stomach, almost like his insides had disappeared.

But he could hear the laughter. It was ringing in his ear and when he looked he could see the redhead laughing. His glasses were almost flying off of his face, his hair was torn back by the wind, but his mouth was open and he was laughing.

Some part of Veser that wasn't freaking out hoped Hanna would swallow a bug and choke on it.

Other than that, all his thoughts had been focused on one thing; I'm going to die. The ground was rushing closer and they were going to hit it and they were going to die. Hanna was insane. Crazy. There was no way they would live.

Blue light suddenly erupted around him, dazzling, blazing, almost blinding in its intensity and there was a roaring that didn't come from the wind, a vibration that coursed through every bone in his body. He tried to turn, to see what was happening, but Hanna now had an arm wrapped tightly around him and he couldn't move and-wait. Were they slowing down? The wind seemed to be dying down, the blurs of grays and browns rushing past them solidifying into recognizable shapes. They lurched, sped up again, and then slowed down once more. Then they slammed into the hard, cracked pavement.

Veser lay there on his stomach, stunned, mind spinning. His head hurt where it had hit the ground and his lip was stinging with a cut but he seemed to be all right. Sure there would be bruises but bruises were easy to deal with. Lights flashed at the edge of his vision, shouting rang in his numb ears. With a grunt, the half-selkie levered himself upright, swaying on his feet a bit. The ground had never felt more solid than it did now.

And there was Hanna, wrestling with the only remaining Ahimsa agent. The other three were all unconscious on the ground. Veser watched in amazement as Hanna drew back an arm and then thrust a hand forward, sending out a crackling ball of blue energy that slammed into the agent and knocked him down. He did not get back up.

Veser was stunned. This wasn't possible, no human could do things like that. But when he'd asked, all the redhead had responded with was that, no, there was nothing special about him. He was Hanna. Just Hanna. And then he'd urged the half-selkie to follow him.

Vesre really didn't know what else to do. Didn't know where else to go. So he'd grabbed his hoverboard and ran after the redhead, followed him down twisted back alleys and deeper into the slums then the half-selkie had ever dared to go. And Hanna had dragged him into an old carpet factory, long since emptied, and had proudly stated it the headquarters for the "Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness Club". And then he'd asked Veser his name, extending a hand in an offer of a handshake.

Veser hadn't responded for a moment, his large eyes lingering on the offered hand as he'd slowly unzipped his jacket. Then his eyes had narrowed and he'd smacked Hanna's hand aside, snarling that they weren't friends and that Hanna was nothing more than a sneaky little son-of-a-bitch and that Veser was only there because he was blackmailed. But as he'd turned to stomp off, he paused for a moment and said over his shoulder,

"And it's Veser. My name's Veser Amaker Hatch."

Life in the rebel group had turned out to be a lot better than living out on the streets. Maybe not safer but definitely better. Veser still flitted off into the streets every so often to pick pockets or raid stalls and he'd come back with his pockets full and that horrible Doc Worth would rant at him and Hanna would laugh and that Lamont guy would make calm little snide comments at them all.

And for the longest time he'd hated Hanna. He'd held true to his promise and punched the moron in the face the next time he had the chance. And gave him a nice bloody nose, too. But Hanna had sat there, sprawled on the floor, staring up at him in wonder, and then _smiled_. He was always smiling and at first, Veser had hated that too.

How could he always smile? How could he always laugh? Didn't he realized what they were? Didn't he realize that if they were caught it would all be over? Did it even register in Hanna Cross' mind that they were some of the most wanted people in the entire city?

Veser didn't think so. And that's why Hanna pissed him off. For a while, anyway. After a couple of missions with the redhead, Veser began to realize that, no, Hanna wasn't stupid. He knew _exactly_ what was going on in the city (sometimes it seemed like he knew more than Veser did) and he was doing everything he could to stop it.

And around the time he realized this, Veser also saw something else. Nobody else, not a single person, was doing anything. Whether it was because they just didn't see what kind of dead life they were living or because they were cowards Veser wasn't sure. But whatever the reason was, no one else was fighting, no one else was risking their lives to free a captive city, no one else was doing anything to stop the death, destruction, and oppression of the Undesirables.

And it was _wrong_.

So Veser did what he thought was best. He used all his skills, directed all his anger and hatred, and did anything within his power to upset the ruling power of the Council of Varuna.

And he enjoyed every second of it.

It wasn't a perfect life-far from it-but it was sure as hell good enough for him.


	13. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN

* * *

**

"Hanna, are you sure you should be up there?"

The former agent's tone had edge of concern to it, his mahogany eyes narrowed against the glare of the morning sun as he squinted up at the smokestack that crowned their home. The redhead could be seen slowly scaling the tower in question, and while his partner was well aware Hanna could fly, every shrill squeak from the aged ladder made him wince.

"Don't worry about it, Nox!" Hanna called back, bracers glinting in the sunlight. "Veser and I do this all the time! It's perfectly safe!" There was a horrifying screech of tearing metal and the bottom half of the ladder was suddenly dangling by a single piece of rusted steel. "Er...well...that's never happened before..."

To the ex-agent's credit, he only visibly cringed when the ladder fell. He did nearly go running toward the tower, but again, Hanna could fly, so a part of him knew it was ridiculous to do so. "Hanna, are you sure? I'm certain I remember you saying Worth didn't want you two up here, and he only just calmed down about the Ark mission…"

"What Worth doesn't know can't hurt him," Veser laughed, hoisting himself up a little higher on the remains of the ladder.

"We'll be fiiinnneee!" Hanna promised as his foot slipped out from underneath him, leaving him dangling in the air, clutching the ladder with his thin hands for a moment or two before he managed to reorient himself and cling to the smokestack again.

His partner below took a step toward the smokestack, then gave a sigh. It wasn't like he could actually do anything. "Just be careful," he muttered as he cast a wary glance toward the door that lead onto the roof.

"You're such a worry-wort." Hanna said with a smile as he and Veser scrambled onto the top of the smokestack and balanced themselves on the edge, Ready Veser?"

"Hell yeah!" The half-selkie grinned, unhooking his hoverboard from his back and kicking it to life, "Just don't crash this time! We can't let Worth find out!"

"I _never_ crash!" Hanna exclaimed, crouching down so that he could charge his bracers. Cerulean light spilled out from underneath his heels, "On my mark! Three...two...one...LIFTOFF!"

He and Veser both gave whooping cries of pure, thrilling, joy as they leapt off the top of the tower and into empty space.

Neon blue and green lights tangled in the air as they shot through the sky, energy from Hanna's bracers bursting like fireworks against the smooth, ethereal trail of Veser's shark-themed hoverboard. The two of them rocketed back and forth through the air, laughing and shouting, leaving streaks of color against a now bland looking morning sky.

The former agent watched with an expression of wonder as the two flew, brilliant shooting stars against the yellow green that tinted the largely cloudless expanse above them. Hanna and Veser flipped and flew through the air, surprisingly graceful compared to their movements on the ground. Truly, it was something to behold.

Hanna's partner shook his head as he leaned against one of the old exhaust fans. "Well," he murmured. "I suppose at least there's nothing for him to run into up there."

Naturally, the moment didn't last. Hanna and Veser's shouts of joy were drowned out by a familiar snarl from down below.

"_HEY_! THE FUCK ARE YOU TWO DOING UP THERE!"

"Oh shit!" Veser pulled up so sharply on his hoverboard that he almost flipped head-over-heels.

"It was Veser's idea!" Hanna shouted immediately, hovering on the spot and pointing at the half-selkie.

"Hey! Was not!" Veser snapped back, "It was totally Hanna's idea!"

"I DON'T CARE _WHOSE_ IDEA IT WAS, YOU'RE BOTH FUCKING DEAD!"

The former agent winced, peering over the rooftop to see Worth down on the ground. The doctor's face was fixed into a scowl, his arms crossed before him. Apparently he was in too much of a rage to help Lamont, whom seemed to be struggling to load boxes into the back of the Worthmobile by himself.

"Hanna fucking-Goddamn Cross, what the _fuck_ did I tell you!" The doctor snapped from the ground.

"Nothing! You didn't tell me anything!" Hanna cried, skidding backwards in the air so that he was partially hidden behind the smokestack.

"No, I'm pretty sure it was something' else! You too, fish for brains!" Worth snarled. "You get the fuck down here _right now_ or so help me I will _end_ both your fucking tiny asses!"

"Way to be a party killer..." Hanna grumbled, "Okay, okay, we're coming." He eased down lower to the rooftop and then, a foot above the cement, cut the power to his bracers and slammed into ground, "Ooooowwww..."

"Aahahahahahahahaaaa!" Veser doubled over, howling with laughter as his hoverboard dropped back towards the rooftop, sparking green lights, "You _suck_, Hanna! Haha!"

The former agent shook his head as he made his way over to the two and offered Hanna a hand. "I warned you," he reminded with a quirk of a brow.

"Well he shoulda fucking _listened_!" Worth snapped from below. "How many times do I have to say 'stay off the Goddamn roof'? You're both gonna fucking snap your necks and when you do I'm_not_ patching you up! "

"Hanna," Lamont called as he leaned out of the back of the hideous van, "Listen to your mother!"

Worth, typically, reacted by attempting to punch Lamont. Said attempt failed, meaning the doctor hit the side of Worth-mobile instead. What followed was a stream of curses that probably could be heard all the way in the inner circle, culminating with a snarled "HANNA, YOU GET THE FUCK DOWN HERE! I TOLD YOU WE WERE GOING TO THE FUCKING BLACK MARKET TODAY, WHY THE _FUCK_ ARE YOU UP THERE!"

"But Toni's not here and neither is Connie!" Hanna pointed out, levering himself to his feet with the aid of the ex-Ahimsa and dusting himself off.

"Yeah," Veser slung his hoverboard over his shoulder again, scowling down at the doctor, "Why the hell aren't you yelling at them?"

The doctor opened his mouth to yell again, then closed it. "…That is a damn good question."

"Didn't you send Conrad to get Toni?" The former agent called own from the roof.

"Yeah," Worth frowned as he glanced to the windows of the third floor. "That was a bit ago though… where the fuck are they? We're leaving in ten minutes, for fuck's sake…"

* * *

Conrad was very tentative about venturing up onto the third floor, having heard more than one story from Hanna and Veser about what happened if someone trespassed in Toni's domain. But really, what was worse; facing the unknown of invading Toni's territory or disobeying Doc Worth and risk the horrifying man screaming his ears off.

So the vampire eased up the steps, peered around the corner, and said in a low voice, "Um...Toni? You up here? Worth says we have to go to the market..."

"Huh?" Toni's head peeked from around a slightly dingy changing screen, her dark hair hanging in blue and black ringlets past her face. She then grinned. "Ah, sorry, I'm a bit slow this morning. Come in!" She called before vanishing behind the screen again.

"Ah...um...but you're...all right..." Conrad stepped carefully into the room, casting a gaze around in curiosity.

The room in question was pretty nice, all things considered, and easily far bigger than the closet they'd given Conrad. It was decorated with a number of things, from old theater posters to a set of slightly torn Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling. A highly battered vanity desk and mirror had been placed against one wall, as well as a dresser and a bed. These things were most likely courtesy of Lamont.

The real centerpiece of the room, however, was a piano. It was placed in front of one of the large, impossibly dirty windows, the yellow-green sunlight filtering in past the dirt and lighting the dust motes floating in the air around the instrument.

Conrad couldn't help but feel impressed...and slightly jealous.

"So why don't you let anyone up here?" He asked, walking up to the piano and inspecting, hands in the pockets of his dark crimson vest.

"Well," Toni said. "If _you_ had Veser and Worth as housemates, would you want them anywhere near your room?"

"Point taken." Conrad muttered, "But hold on a second, what about Hanna? You don't let _him_ up here, do you?"

"Well, yeah. But he's like my little brother and usually he doesn't cause any trouble. Besides, I have to get him away from Veser and Worth sometimes, you _know_ what bad influences they are," Toni laughed as she hopped out from behind the screen, tugging one of her boots on.

Conrad snorted, "I think Worth is training Veser to be his successor in the Number One Jackass category..." He paused and glanced at the werewolf, "So then why did you let me up here?"

Toni glanced up from where she was grabbing her other boot. "Well, why not? You seem trustworthy enough…. besides, it seems like you get enough flack from Worth. I figured you could use a bit of kindness for a change."

An actual smile flitted across Conrad's face, "I...appreciate that." An awkward silence lingered for a moment or two and then, looking back at the piano, he asked, "Sssoooo...do you play?"

The werewolf nodded as she wandered over to snatch up her hairbrush. "Yeah. I've been playing all my life. I thought for sure that was done when I came to the slums, but Lamont found me one. He's really pretty decent about that kind of thing." She then looked to Conrad, raising a brow. "Do you?"

The vampire blinked at her and then looked back at the piano, looking a little flustered, "Well I...sort of...not really...a little..." He sighed, "My parents they...when I was younger I took some piano lessons. I haven't touched a piano in years, though, I doubt I can play anything decent."

Toni grinned as she tugged the brush through her hair. "Why don't you try? You seem like you want to."

"Wh-what? Oh no, I couldn't." Conrad bit his lip and then winced when his fang dug in, "R-really, I'm probably terrible at it."

He received an eyeroll in response as Toni approached the piano, pulling her hair into a ponytail as she did so. "You won't know until you try. Come on!" She insisted as she put a hand on Conrad's arm and pushed him toward the piano.

"B-but I...!" The vampire started to protest and then found himself planted on the bench in front of the keyboard, looking at the familiar ebony and ivory. He stared at it for a moment and then looked over his shoulder at Toni, "Don't laugh, all right. I'm probably going to be awful at this..." And he reached up to the keys.

After a few tentative strokes, he began to play. It was a light tune, almost dancing and carefree. Conrad's pale fingers flickered across the keyboard, occasionally hitting a wrong note and sometimes pausing as he tried to remember the rest. He stopped before he finished playing the piece and leaned back from the piano, pulling his hands into his lap and looking embarrassed.

"I feel like I just broke a ton of rules..." He murmured, "And it probably wasn't even that good, was it?"

Toni beamed as she slid onto the bench beside the vampire, her bright green eyes seeming to sparkle as she met Conrad's red ones. "Hardly. I think for someone who hasn't played in years, that was great," she said as she reached out to take the former graphic designer's hands and place them on the keyboard again. Her dark skin tone contrasted heavily with the Conrad's deathly pale, but if she was bothered by the chill of his hands, she didn't say anything. "You keep missing _this_ note, though," she added as she pressed down Conrad's pinky with her own, the resulting note ringing through the air.

If Conrad had the ability to do so, he probably would have blushed. He hit the key a couple of times on his own and then pulled back again, "H-how about you play something now..."

The singer nodded, the grin on her face making it rather clear she'd been waiting for this. She reached up to brush a strand of hair behind her ear, then placed her fingers on the key. There was a moment of silence before her tanned fingers suddenly seemed to explode into motion, keys brushed in a flurry of notes. Her fingers traced across the keyboard with the grace of a dancer, the resulting music a fast-paced, almost sad tune, though there seemed to be quite a bit of energy and hope somewhere within the flow of the melody. In contrast to this, Toni's expression was one of serenity as she played.

Conrad watched first her fingers flash across the keys, enticing a harmony from the strings, and then let his gaze switch to her serene expression. He glanced back at the keys, listening to the music, and suddenly found that he was tapping his foot along with the beat.

He cleared his throat and said in a low voice that almost didn't carry over the music, "You're an amazing player."

"Thank you," Toni said as she continued to play. "I wrote it… for some friends of mine."

"Friends?" Conrad murmured, "Are they... Undesirables?"

The singer's smile became somewhat sad as her fingers brushed across the keyboard. "Some were. They were my band members, the Ahimsa got them when they helped me run to the slums."

"I'm... sorry..." Conrad said awkwardly, "You must've had some...some bad experiences with humans, huh?"

Toni gave a low hum of agreement. "We all have. That's why we fight, to make sure someday we won't have to."

Conrad was silent for a moment, fiddling with the edge of his vest. Then in a quiet voice, he asked, "Do you... do you hate normal people...?"

"Hm?" The werewolf blinked as she looked to Conrad. After a moment, she let out a sigh, pausing in her playing as she turned her gaze out the window. "…Sometimes," she said after a moment. "It's hard not to. But… normal people persecute us because of the stereotype put forth by the Council of Mitra, and I know we're not all like that. Am I really any better if I hate all normal people for the same reason?"

She let this question hang in the air for a moment, then shook her head. "I know I'm not, and I need to work on it. But it _is_ hard, I'll admit." With those words she looked to Conrad and smiled again. "What about you? Do you still hate Undesirables?"

"I..." Conrad was now staring fixedly at the piano keys, "No, I don't. I think. I...I admit to the fact that I believed the Council just like everyone else. I believed that Undesirables were bad and that normal humans were good and that the Ahimsa were in the right and the resistance in the wrong. After I was...turned I hated Hanna for what he did to me. I thought for sure it would have been better if he'd just let me die." Conrad closed his eyes and kneaded his forehead with his knuckles, "But the more time I spent here-in the slums, with the rebels, with people like you-the more I thought about how life was in the inner circle. And last night, when we were on the roof, I think I realized something..." The vampire looked up, his red eyes hard,

"This whole city is really fucked up."

His words hung in the air for a moment. Then came a light, high note from the piano as Toni tapped one of the keys. "I know," The werewolf murmured as she began to play again, her eyes falling shut. "I know. And I know what it's like… being in your position. I mean, granted, I was always different, but…" She shook her head. "It's hard to come to terms with. But I think you're doing fine, all things considered."

Conrad chuckled lightly, "Thanks. It hasn't been easy but..." He lifted his hands to the piano again and began to play alongside Toni's melody, "At least I'm not alone." And a genuine smile lifted his pale lips, revealing more of his fang than usual.

The werewolf looked to Conrad, then smiled back as she continued to play. "Exactly."

"Aaaawwwwww, you two are _so cute_ together!" Cried a voice and Hanna was suddenly between the two of them, perched happily on the bench, grinning.

"Hanna, what the _fuck_!" Conrad shouted, slamming down a discord of several horrible notes in his surprise.

Toni burst out laughing. "Surprisingly, I didn't hear you come in. What's up?" She asked as she looked to Hanna, seemingly not bothered by his sudden entry.

"Worth sent me up here to get you guys." Hanna answered, tapping out a tentative 'Chopsticks' on the piano. He hit a wrong key and yanked his hand back with a giggle, "We're almost ready to head out for the black market and he says if you don't come down we're leaving you behind."

"Fuck him..." Conrad growled, scowling darkly at the bright smile on Hanna's face.

Toni rolled her eyes, though a smile was on her face as she stood and brushed a bit of dust off of her skirts. "Typical. Well, we'd better go then, no sense in depriving doctor jerk of people to yell at. Shall we?"

"I kind of can't..." Conrad grumbled, getting to his feet and stuffing his hands back into the pockets of his vest, "It's kind of _daylight_ out and I can't exactly go outside when there's _sunlight_."

"Maybe if you wore a hat...?" Hanna wondered aloud, tilting his head to the side.

Conrad rolled his eyes, "Thanks, Hanna, that was so intelligent I'm almost speechless. But I think I'll just stay home and watch you guys tear around and cause as much damage as you possibly can, thanks."

The werewolf flashed Conrad a sympathetic smile. "Well, if you're sure…"

"It's all right." Conrad assured her, returning the smile with a small one of his own, "Don't worry about, I'll entertain myself by keeping an eye on you guys. Go on, have fun."

"I'll pick you up something epic, Connie!" Hanna promised with his usual, brilliant grin, "Come on, Toni, hurry up. or Worth's going to leave without us!"

Toni nodded as she swept toward the door, skirts flown behind her. "All right. See you later, Conrad," she said with a wave before vanishing.

"Bye Connie!" Hanna waved cheerily at the vampire and skipped out of the room after Toni.

"Well," Conrad sighed, heading towards the stairs, "I guess I'd better get down to that shit hole Worth dares call a basement."

"I just hope to God nothing goes wrong this time…"

* * *

It should have been a given that the trip to the market did not go entirely as planned.

Hanna and Toni had made it to the Worthmobile just fine, and by that point the doctor had been in the driver's seat, pounding on the horn and seeming generally irritable that they hadn't left yet. Thus, it had seemed prudent to shove the last couple of boxes into the back of the car so everyone could pile into the vehicle in record time. Unfortunately, in their haste to get into said vehicle, they nearly left Veser behind. The poor half-selkie ended up chasing after the vehicle on his hoverboard for nearly half a mile before Worth finally pulled over and let Veser in. This had, naturally, only lead to more yelling as the group made their way to the marketplace.

They did indeed arrive though, and aside from Veser's understandable irritation ("Dude, my hood is _scorched_ because of you!") the group was in relatively good spirits. Thus, no one was terribly annoyed when Lamont placed lists in Toni and the former agent's hands. The smile on his face was a stark contrast to Worth's sneer as the doctor made it very clear that they were all to purchase _only_ what was on the lists and be back at the van by two in the afternoon. The two in the afternoon bit was nonnegotiable, but by this point everyone was numb to the usual sneer of "I don't care how you get back. If you get your leg caught in fucking bear trap, cut it off. I don't fucking _care_, just be here!". Thus, the doctor only received shrugs and mumbled curses in reply before the group splintered and headed off on their various quests.

The black market was tucked into the most ancient section of the slums, the part where buildings hardly looked like buildings anymore, where street had become cracked and sunken in places, and where the people were the sort one would generally avoid at all costs.

And yet even with all this, the place was still very much alive. Undesirables of all sorts mingled with one another, lounging at rickety booths built of old wood and discarded metal or walking past the dealers, talking and gesturing. The stale air of the slums was tinged somewhat with the thick smells of smoke, foodstuffs, and incense and it rang with voice clamoring for attention. The black market was almost vibrating with the life that filled it.

"So what's the first thing on the list?" Hanna asked, walking beside the ex-agent, a bounce in his step and a smile on his face, "Oooohh, hey, check out that stand!" And he scurried away to look at a display of jewelry that were either stolen or very clever fakes, "Hey! These are really pretty! I wonder if Toni would like one? What do you think, Joachim? Do you think Toni would like a necklace?"

The former agent miraculously managed to keep to Hanna's side in the crowd, which meant it wasn't too difficult to put a hand on the redhead's shoulder and steer him away. "Maybe she would. It's not on the list though, so come on." Really, his intentions had less to do with the list and more with the devilish sneer the stand owner seemed to be giving Hanna, but there was no point in actually raising the alarm in such a place.

"All rriiiiiggghhhttt," Hanna muttered with a small smile, following his friend away from the booth, "But I'm still getting Conrad something. And you too. So what's the list say?"

His partner frowned as he looked to the list. "Er… food, mostly. I'm under the impression Worth doesn't trust us with much else."

"Food! Aw man, great!" The redhead laughed, "Okay! What do we need first? I know all the best stands to go to!"

"Um, chicken, apparently…"

"Awright! I love chicken!" Hanna grabbed a fistful of the ex-agent's coat and started tugging him through the market, "Come on, this is gonna be fun!"

Fun was hardly a word the former Ahimsa would have used to describe the experience. Hanna was everywhere; laughing and making comments and dragging his companion around with him the whole time. Simply getting the chicken became an adventure in of itself. Between the snide comments from the stall owner and Hanna's ignorant babble, they almost couldn't get the purchase but the ever patient ex-agent was eventually able to sort it out in the end.

What followed was a series of mishaps and laughable instances. Most of them instigated by Hanna; the redhead did not seem to be as explosive as he usually was-no doubt still recovering from the Ark incident-but he was still quite adapt at getting himself into trouble. The man selling beans had been especially displeased when he caught Hanna attempting to take "samples" of his wares in order to make sure they were "satisfactory". It was all the former agent could do to keep everything from falling into chaos.

"Alucard, come 'ere! Check this out!" Hanna had darted away and was waving his friend over to a nearby stand, "Come here, look!"

The former agent let out a sigh as he weaved through the crowd, hefting a bag over his shoulder. Keeping track of Hanna in the mass of people while carrying multiple bags seemed to be growing harder and harder, and the bag the redhead held was doing little to slow him down. Really though, aside from his inability to mimic Hanna's ability to weave through crowds (which probably came with the territory of being impossibly small), Hanna's partner found he really didn't mind. He'd come to expect these adventures, after all.

Though if Hanna could stand to slow down just a _tad_ so his friend could keep better track of him, it'd be nice.

"What is it, Hanna?" The ex-agent asked as he finally pushed through the crowd.

"I've found the _perfect_ thing for you; it would totally add to the whole intimidating image thing." The redhead spun around and thrust a leopard print fedora with a neon pink band into the agent's face, "Isn't it great?"

Mahogany eyes blinked in confusion as spots and neon pink filled his vision. "Er… I… ah, I don't really think it's my color," the former agent said politely as he gently pushed the hat out of his face. "Besides, didn't Worth say we were only supposed to buy what was on the list?"

"Tch, don't worry about it." Hanna waved a hand dismissively, turning back to the stall and setting the fedora down, "You deserve something of your own." Hanna started sorting through the other fedoras on display, "Remind me we have to pick something up for Connie, 'k? Ooooh, how 'bout this one?" The redhead turned around again, holding up a bright orange fedora with a blue band.

The former agent shook his head. "Well, I suppose Lamont did give us a bit extra," he sighed as he glanced over the money in his wallet. "Though in that case, you should get yourself something. I really don't need anything."

"Nah, I've got enough stuff for myself." Hanna replied, putting the orange fedora down, "But you and Conrad have been here for a while and you haven't gotten anything for yourselves. This is it! This is the _one_." Hanna turned around slowly and held out a plain, black fedora with a giant grin, "At least try this one on, Damien."

His partner stared at the black fedora. He then shrugged, taking the hat and placing it on his head. "Hm," he murmured as he glanced into a cracked mirror that had been attached to the stand. "Not bad."

"Now say something awesome!" Hanna encouraged, still grinning with excitement.

The former agent blinked at him in confusion for a moment. "…What?"

"Dish out one of your wicked one-liners!"

He merely received a blank stare in response.

"You know," Hanna struck a dramatic pose, putting on a serious face and holding his arm up in the imitation of pointing a gun. Then he said in a low voice, "'I always was the better shot.'" The grin returned and he dropped his arm, "Like that! Say something like that!"

Again came a beat of silence. "You were holding your fake gun wrong," the former agent finally observed, his lips giving a light upward twitch.

"Was I?" Hanna pretended to hold a gun and looked at his hand curiously. Then he looked up at his companion with a smile, "Hey, see! That could _totally_ be a one-liner! Now say it like you would say to a bad guy; all dark and angry! Come on, come on...!"

"Do I really seem angry?" The former agent mused as he took off the hat and moved to pay the vender with the money Worth had given him. It did look good on him, and Hanna seemed so thrilled by the prospect of the fedora that he didn't think he could have gotten away with not purchasing it.

Besides, he and Hanna had ended up cleaning the bathroom again and even _he_ felt he deserved an award for that.

"Well, no, that's not what I meant..." Hanna said awkwardly, "I meant that you were...like...um..." The redhead shuffled his feet on the spot, looking a bit embarrassed, "It's just...when you protected me from that Ahimsa guy in the Ark...you seemed really...it was really..." He paused again, searching for the right word, "It was really cool."

His partner did fully smile at this. He didn't understand why people kept going on about this sort of thing, but he supposed he didn't mind. "I'm just doing my job," he said as he took the hat from the vendor and put it on again. "But thank you."

_"Uh, guys, hate to ruin the moment,"_ Conrad's voice came over the communicators, sounding slightly anxious, _"But I think there's something-."_

The rest of his sentence was lost in the echoing crack of a gunshot ringing through the crowded street.

The former agent's response was immediate. He dove behind the nearest stand, dragging Hanna with him. Around them the world seemed to explode into chaos, the already energetic crowd becoming a screaming mob as Undesirables scrambled to get away. People slammed into each other, shoved one another into walls, kicked and screamed in their desperate struggle to leave. In the distance more shouts and gunshots could be heard, and the former agent swore he spotted a familiar uniform amongst it all. The strange mesh of culture that had made up the black market had become a race for survival, shoppers transformed into desperate prey.

Mahogany eyes met bright blue as the ex-agent said the words on both their minds.

"The Ahimsa are here."


	14. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN

* * *

**

"Worth, put that one down, it's too expensive. These ones are cheaper." Lamont hefted a bag of essentials under one arm and indicated a box of cigarettes on the stall in front of him. "Better yet, let's not get any at all. Saves me from having to smell your shitty cancer sticks."

The doctor turned to fix a glare on Lamont, the sort of glare that had been known to make most grown men piss themselves. "…'re you seriously telling' me to skip my brand?" Behind the dealer, the owner of the stand gave a whimper and shrunk behind the table.

Lamont, who had grown quite immune to Worth's deadly glare over years, simply smirked coolly at him. "Why do you even care about brands? I thought you were against that whole 'advertising' thing. Or are you really just an inner circle, conformist, pussy? Something you're not telling us, Worth?"

Worth blinked, then smirked back. "Fuck no. Got nothing t' do with brand loyalty, I jus' stick with 'em because I know it bugs th' ever-living shit out of you."

"Aw, so glad to know you care." Lamont said sarcastically. "Fine, get your cigs. But we're getting cheap booze if you do."

His friend snorted. "It's all the same watery horse shit anyway, what's it matter?" He said as he grabbed an armful of the boxes and shoved them in the vendor's face. "'M buyin' these. How much?"

"E-er," the vendor stuttered, blinking as he tried to count. "A-ah I believe that would be twenty…" he trailed off as Worth fixed a glare at him. "Er, fifteen, so-"

"Christ, you're useless," Worth grunted as he shoved several crumpled up bills. With those words he stuffed the boxes into his coat pockets, turning to Lamont and grinning. "See? I got us a discount."

"Discount?" Lamont snorted, "That was more like rob-" The crack of a gun shot cut him off, and he spun around to look down the street at the panicking Undesirables. "Shit...I hope that's just some drunk who got a little trigger happy...!"

His friend let out a snort. "With our luck? Doubt it," he said as he dodged a pair of flailing arms. Again there came a flare of bright blue from down the street and the doctor reached out to grab Lamont's arm. "C'mon, a raid's t' last thing we need to deal wit' right now. Let's just hope Hanna's not stupid enough to get involved this time."

"I wouldn't count on it." Lamont answered, pushing several people out of the way, "If Hanna's here, you can bet he's going to get mixed up in it. He _always_ does."

"Of course," Worth grumbled, then let out a yelp as a bullet whizzed past his ear. "Jesus fucking _Christ_, that was close! The fuck happened to their Storm Trooper shooting abilities!" He snapped as he clapped a hand over his ear.

"I don't think it's just the police, Worth!" Lamont ducked behind a stand as several bullets ripped through the air, dragging the doctor down with him, "It's the Ahimsa! What the hell are they doing! And how the hell did they find the black market!"

The blond shook his head. "Fuck if I know. The raids normally don't bring them anywhere near here… _shit_!" He cursed as another bullet whizzed past their hiding place. "I think they're actually aiming for us!"

Lamont peered over the edge of the booth and then ducked back down quickly. "Damn it, there's a ton of them! It's not a raiding party, it's fucking _army_!" Wood splinters hurtled into the air and a bullet blasted into the stand just beside his head, "Holy -! We've got to get everyone out of here, now! Where're the others?"

"No idea, but we ain't any use to them if we die here! Move!" With those words Worth darted from behind the cart to one of the alleyways, coat flaring behind him.

"W-Worth, hold on! Damn it!" Lamont leaped up and raced after his friend. "What're we going to do? We can't leave Hanna back there!"

"We're not going to," Worth said grimly as he reached up and tapped his ear. "Hey, faggots, the Ahimsa are here. I dunno what's going on and I don't give a fuck. I want you all to get your asses to the van in fifteen minutes, you got me? Fifteen minutes and we're leaving!"

A crackle of distant screaming came over the communicator and Veser's voice shouted, _"Way ahead of you, Doc! Bet we can beat you there!"_

_"Stop chatting and get moving!"_ Conrad snarled through the earpiece. _"There's even more of them on their way! And nobody had better get shot!"_

Worth let out a harsh, barking sort of laugh as he and Lamont ducked around another corner, gunshots on their heels. "What, is our gay little housewife actually worried 'bout us?"

_"No!"_ Conrad said a little too quickly. _"But you can't see what I'm seeing! These Ahimsa agents... they just keep coming! And they're all headed after you guys! It's because of the Ark, isn't it! It's because you blew up the Ark!"_

"That doesn't explain how they found us!" Lamont shouted back.

The doctor shook his head. "I don't know and I don't fucking care. Let's just move! No one's getting arrested today, you got me?" He declared as he leaped over an overturned cart.

For once, he really hoped no one would make a liar out of him.

* * *

"Damnit!" Toni cursed under her breath as she wove through the crowd, the clicking of her heels lost in the chaos. "How is this happening?"

"Hate to admit it, but Worth's right!" Veser jumped over a pile of wood and steel that might have once been a booth. "We'll worry about _how_ later! Right now we've gotta save our skins!" The teenager suddenly grinned. "Hey Toni, if we make it outta here alive... how about a victory kiss?"

The werewolf gave a snort. "You wish," she said as they ducked around a corner, her skirts flaring around her. Green eyes narrowed as she glanced ahead. "Heads up, we've got company," she muttered over the cries from up ahead.

This was pretty much an understatement. A number of Ahimsa agents were rushing down the alleyway ahead of them, guns in hand and wearing expressions of anger.

"Shit!" Veser shouted, digging his heels into the ground as he skidded to a halt. A handful of bombs and his harpoon were in his hands in an instant, his neon green eyes narrowed and glaring, all of his sharp teeth bared in an almost animalistic way at the charging agents. "Bring it on, mother fuckers! You're going straight to hell!"

"You're always so eager," Toni murmured as she charged ahead. "Be careful!" She called out as she transformed, a blur of flashing blue in the tight alleyway. The Ahimsa before her could only shout in surprise as she pounced on him, a blur of glowing fur and claws.

"I'm more worried 'bout _you_! Don't scar that pretty face, now!" Veser laughed, lunging at the Ahimsa. "Come on, you bastards! Show me what you're made of!" The half-selkie swept his harpoon down in an arc, slicing through an agent's hand and making him drop his gun. In the same movement, the teenager spun and flung out a couple of small bombs, making sure they landed away from Toni. The screams from the injured agents made him grin madly. "Serves you fuckers right!"

"You're lucky I'm busy," Toni growled as she jerked her head to the side, taking a chunk of an agent with her. She used the screaming man as a springboard, leaping from his falling form and kicking against the brick wall so she could bounce to the next one. "I would _so_ punch you if I could!" She snarled as she lashed out with her claws, knocking an Ahimsa agent clear across the alleyway.

"Hey, any physical contact is fine with me," Veser smirked, spinning into a roundhouse kick and smashing an Ahimsa agent in the face. The man fell to the ground, blood pouring from a broken nose, and Veser stabbed his harpoon into the agent's chest. "I'll even let you touch this merchandise free of charge..."

Toni channeled her rage from that comment into a solid blow to a poor agent's chest. "You _ass_," she growled out as she dove to the ground, narrowly avoiding several shots. "Look, let's just go. We've got enough down, we need to move!"

"Right, right, ruin the _fun_!" Veser emphasized his last word by hurling a bomb at a couple of agents. "Okay _now_ we can go!"

The werewolf let out a growl as she tackled one last agent into the dirt. Then they were off, a streak of blue fur and gray, torn up hoodie in the streets.

The two of them ran for several blocks, occasionally running into an agent or two with relative ease. Veser had more than enough bombs, after all, and Toni could certainly handle her own. By the fifth skirmish, however, Toni was getting irritated.

"Veser!" She snapped, sharp teeth clicking together as she leaped over another gun barrel. "Stop picking fights, we need to _move_!"

"Psh, you worried?" Veser knocked an agent down and flashed a grin at Toni. All he got in response was a deadly glare. "All right, all right, _fine_. I'm moving already. Geez, you're starting to sound like Worth... can't have any fun around here..." The agent he'd just sent to the ground started to get up and Veser kicked him in the gut before finishing him off with a quick slash of his harpoon. "Right, you happy now? Let's go."

He received an eye roll as the two tore down yet another alleyway. "Worth _said_ fifteen minutes! I don't know about you, but I sure as hell don't feel like being left behind!"

"You know he won't leave us!" Veser replied. "He's just sayin' that 'cause he's scared of getting shot!"

Toni scowled. "Maybe so, but I'm not risking it!" she exclaimed as they turned another corner.

Veser opened his mouth, ready to spit out some wisecrack or another, when a gunshot split the air. The half-selkie's large eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, his hand coming up to grasp at his side where a red stain was slowly spreading across his shirt.

"F-fuck..." He muttered in a strained voice and fell to the ground, blood spreading over the fingers that covered the wound. His harpoon tumbled from his other hand, clattering to the pavement beside him.

His friend skidded to a halt, wolf eyes widening as she spun to watch the half-selkie fall. "Veser!" Toni cried out, rushing to the nineteen-year old's side. She knelt down, reaching out carefully with her claws. "Oh God! Are you all right!" Her voice was panicked, canine face betraying a surprising amount of emotion.

Before the half-selkie could reply, the two of them both heard the hum of a gun barrel from down the alleyway.

"That was easier than expected."

* * *

"Why does this always happen?"

The former agent's question was a calm one as he and Hanna weaved through the alleyways, leaping over fallen carts and treading across ruined merchandise. The Ahimsa seemed like an angry, faceless mass behind them, distinguished from the crowd by gunfire and little else.

Hanna's partner was grateful that most of the alleyways besides the main street were less crowded. The last thing he wanted was for anyone else to get caught in the crossfire when the target was so obviously them.

"What do you mean? Why does what always happen?" Hanna asked almost innocently, tripping over a ruined stand and pinwheeling his arms as he ran to keep himself from falling.

"This," the ex-agent said conversationally as he caught the redhead by the back of the shirt, his coat flaring out behind them as they turned a corner. "Everyone running, the Ahimsa following us. Does this just happen all the time?"

"Er, yeah, actually," Hanna replied with a smile. "It's a... uh... occupational hazard, I guess you could say. Nothing really new. Why? Does it bother you?"

His partner shrugged as he leaped over a fallen barrel, hardly seeming to notice as it burst in a hail of splinters and some sort of goo shortly after he cleared it. "Not entirely. I really should have bargained for a better dental plan when I joined up, though."

Hanna laughed, "Hahaha, oh, well, there's always Doc Worth..." He paused for a moment. "On second thought, he'd probably be listed under 'hazardous to your health', wouldn't he?"

"Pretty much," the former agent agreed as they ducked around another corner, pausing to get a few shots in before the two continued on.

"Well at least he _will_ fix us!" The redhead chuckled, skipping around a pile of metal beams that sparked as a bullet ricocheted off them. "Okay, sure, he might accidentally sew a cigarette inside you, but it's all right, because he usually gets it out a week or two later." Hanna noticed the look his companion was giving him and quickly added, "He takes care of us, he really does. He probably just seems like a general asshole to most people, but I know he -" Hanna suddenly pulled up short, staring off into the distance without really seeming to notice it, his blue eyes taking on a somewhat glazed look.

His partner skidded to a stop as well, brow furrowing. "Hanna? What's wrong?" Mahogany eyes flicked across the redhead, trying to see if it was an injury that had stopped them.

"They're..." Hanna's voice came out in a hoarse murmur. "I can... feel..." He shook himself and the light returned to his eyes as he spun around to look at the former agent, "Listen, Noland, I have to... I have to go take care of something. You just make sure you get to the van and get everyone else outta here safely, 'k?" And without waiting for a response, the redhead took off running down another alley, blue sparks flying from his bracers like some physical manifestation of anticipation.  
"I have to go."

"What!" the ex-agent sputtered, reaching out and grasping for his partner's arm on reflex. He missed, however, and already the redhead was speeding ahead. With a curse the dark-haired man took off in pursuit, hands clenching into fists. "Hanna, wait!"

Hanna glanced briefly over his shoulder and muttered, "Sorry, Alphonse." He then crouched low to the ground, azure light spilling from beneath his heels, and rocketed off into the sky, leaving a blinding trail of energy behind him.

The former agent let out a curse as he helplessly watched Hanna take off. Why hadn't he seen this coming? Hanna's eyes had looked just like the other night, and of _course_ he couldn't have expected the redhead to stay with him amongst all the chaos! He should have known, and of course that only made the whole mess even more frustrating.

But what was he supposed to do now?

He stood there for a moment, then shook his head. There wasn't really a question there. His job was to look after Hanna, whether the resistance member told him to leave or not. With a growl the dark-haired man took off after the trail of light Hanna had left behind, face set into an expression of grim determination.

"Hanna, you've got to stop doing this," he murmured. "I can't keep chasing after you forever."

* * *

"They're like ants."

The observation came in a snicker. The two were perched upon the edge of an aged skyscraper, the wind sending new coats and freshly cleaned hair whipping about. Far too nice for your average Undesirable… but then again, they were both aware they weren't average.

It was funny just what one could bargain from the Council when those nerds in coats wanted something.

A thin elbow reached out to nudge the other in the side. "Come on, Fin, look at this! They look like ants down there!" The taller of the two drawled as he squinted at the chaos of the streets. The alterations had worked well enough that they could handle sunlight without bursting into flames, but even he had to admit he wasn't a fan of the glaring sun.

Well, sacrifices had to be made, right?

There came a sigh. "Casimiro…"

"What? I'm bored. I still don't see why we can't just _go_…"

"Patience, Cas. He'll be here soon."

All he received in reply was a hiss.

* * *

The first thing Toni really noticed about the woman were her eyes.

They were ice blue, their frigid gaze seeming to pierce right through her. A gun was held in the woman's gloved hands, her uniform jacket and pants fitted to perfection. Her hair was a no-nonsense, dark brown bob, and it seemed to suit her grim expression as she walked up to them.

"For Undesirables, I will admit that you fight well. You aren't the most aware of your surroundings, however," she said, her tone clipped and heavily accented.

"F-fuck you..." Veser ground out, still on the ground and holding his bleeding side. "That was such a... cheap shot... n-no skill behind it at all..." He smirked a little. "You got no c-class, lady..."

The woman looked to him for a moment. "Hardly. I simply saw my shot and took it. Though clearly I wasn't as spot on as I'd hoped," she murmured as she pointed the gun again.

Toni let out a roar as she leaped between Veser and the stranger, her teeth bared. "You stay away from him!" She snarled the fur on her back standing on end.

"Do you really thinking standing between me and him is going to help?" The woman asked, raising a brow. "I'll just shoot you as well, it's hardly a problem."

"Try and I'll rip your throat out, bullet wound or no," Toni hissed. "You Ahimsa and your guns aren't exactly news to us."

"Ladies, ladies, please..." Veser snorted and then winced as pain lanced through him. "D-don't fight... there's plenty of me t-to go around..."

"Shut _up_, Veser," Toni growled under her breath.

Their opponent said nothing for a moment. "Comedians. Wonderful," she said dryly before reaching into a pocket and pulling out her badge. "I am Anya Borokov, Captain of the Ahimsa. You are Toni Ipres and Veser Amaker Hatch, and you are well known to be resistance members. By order of the Council of Mitra, I am placing you under arrest."

"Arrest? Seems more like an execution to me," Toni huffed.

Anya almost smiled at that. "It is all the same, is it not? You are Undesirables. The system is made to combat monsters like you. One or two deaths in the name of this city is a small victory, but a victory none-the-less."

"B-bastards..." Veser spat, "Fuck you." His fingers curled around his harpoon and drew it close to him, trying to lever himself to his feet with it. His arms shook and he collapsed to the ground again. "Sh-shit... Toni, get out of here...!"

Toni shook her head violently. "No way. I'm not leaving you!" She snapped before looking back to Anya. "And where the hell do you get off? We're not just animals for you to hunt, we're people too!" Her normal calm was long gone, replaced by a rage that sent her fur bristling.

"Is that so?" The captain murmured. "You saying such things while under that guise is laughable, Miss Ipres. You're all little more than wild animals who have gone out of control. All that's left is to exterminate you."

The werewolf let out a snarl at this, very nearly launching herself at the captain then and there. "Is that so? Because when you talk like that, I don't see you being any better, _human_! You're not so high and mighty and you have no right to treat us like this! We're not all monsters, but I'll be damned if the way you all act doesn't make me wonder just what you are."

Those blue eyes narrowed slightly. "You will not deter me from doing my job. I have seen what you are capable of, I have seen what you've done to my men. They were good men, Miss Ipres, and you have slain them without question. My job is to make sure that doesn't happen, to protect this city."

"Great," Toni growled. "So tell me, who's going to protect them from monsters like _you_?"

Anya shook her head as she leveled the gun. "That is not my concern. My boss may find amusement in your schemes, but I've grown tired of this war. I am ending this. Goodbye, Miss Ipres."

"Fuck y-your system!" Veser shouted suddenly, eyes blazing with rage as he struggled to his feet. "A-and your rules! And your s-stupid... stupid government!" The hand that wasn't holding his harpoon came up, holding a blinking, silver and orange sphere. "You have s-s-serious anger issues, l-lady." He smirked, hoisting himself up a little and bringing his arm higher. "You need to g-get laid."

There was a beat of silence. Anya made a sputtering sort of noise. "You -"

Veser cut her off with a shout, "We don't h-have time to get shot!" He hurled the sphere into the air. "See you, Ahimsa bitch!" The orange sphere struck the ground just in front of Anya and exploded. Thick, gray smoke filled the air, a suffocating cloud that obscured everything from view.

In an instant Toni had transformed, a flash of blue signifying her change from her battle form to full wolf. Veser's gloved hands caught hold of her thick fur, and in a flurry of paws, the two were tearing down the street, leaving the cloud of smoke far behind them.

Anya let out a violent cough, just barely catching a glimpse of their flight through watering eyes. "Get back here! You're und-" Her shout was cut off a coughing fit and she let out a groan as she collapsed against the wall, her grip loosening on her weapon. "Damnit."

Well, she supposed they weren't the most wanted Undesirables in the city for nothing.

* * *

The slums were a blur beneath Hanna as he soared through the air, red hair whipping in the wind and brilliant blue eyes narrowed into slits behind his glasses. Light spilled out behind him, sparks shooting from the bracers on his hands, but he kept his gaze ahead, swooping down a little lower to the ground, searching.

Somewhere in the back of his mind was the hope that the former agent would listen to him, that he would go back and help the others, that he wouldn't follow. Because Hanna was pretty sure he knew what was coming and he really didn't want his friend to see. Not him, not like that. Not again.

Hanna dropped a few feet lower and eased up on his speed. Dust and debris was kicked up behind him, the only remaining window in a building exploded into tinkling shards of glass as he shot by, but Hanna ignored it all. He was on a mission.

Ironically, the redhead was so focused that he didn't even see his target coming. Thus, he was caught completely by surprise when a bright, blinding red blur came out of nowhere, slamming into him with the force of a semi truck.

Hanna tumbled out of the air with a choked cry, slamming into the side of a building, bouncing off of it, and thudding into the ground. He pushed himself up with a groan, one hand on his side where he'd been hit, and glared at the rooftop across the street.

"_Damn_, that kid is light!"

The voice was cheery and somewhat feral, mixed with the sound of sizzling flesh and the sparking of energy. Its source was a tall, lithe man with hair a mixture of reddish brown and black and skin that was tanned, even with the pallor of death on his features. His mouth was stretched into a horrible grin. One of his eyes was scarred over and white, while the other was a brilliant red matched only by the energy sparking around him.

"Casimiro, focus."

The second voice was far calmer and deeper, though there was a hint of a warning to its tone. Its owner seemed to be the exact opposite of the first man, a stocky figure with a similar deathly complexion. Dark blue energy sparked around his thick shoulders as he paused at his companions side, beady red eyes narrowed as he gazed down at Hanna.

The two both would have had the air of being gentlemen - they certainly had the clothes for it - but their fangs told a different story.

The first man, apparently named Casimiro, gave a huff. "Come _on_, Finas, it's the first time we've been free in ages! Learn to live a little!"

His partner let out a sigh. "Let's just get this over with."

The red vampire looked back to Hanna and grinned. "My pleasure."

"Wait, what...?" Hanna raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Who're you guys? And why'd you hit me?"

"What, you mean you didn't know?" Casimiro asked, brow furrowing in confusion. He then looked to Finas and shrugged. "I could have sworn he was supposed to feel us coming… oh well."

And then quite suddenly he was leaping off of the roof, skin and muscle separating from bone in a sizzling flash of energy, revealing thin, vein-like lines of brilliant red running through his body. These lines became a blur as the vampire charged toward Hanna, tan fingers twisting into claws.

Hanna cursed and dashed to the side, trying to avoid the attack even as he channeled neon blue energy into his hands. "Hey, whoa! Stop a minute! Why're you doing this! We're the same, right! Can't we just be friends!"

That got a laugh from Casimiro even as his attack missed - a wild, hair-raising cackle. "Friends? Sure, we can be friends! Let's play!"

But the next attack did not come from him, but rather from a dark blue blur to Hanna's right. It was as if the redhead were smashing into a great big, blue wall… one that was moving in the opposite direction.

Hanna let out a cry of pain, spinning through the air before landing heavily on the ground and rolling across the pavement before skidding to a stop. A streak of red was smeared across the concrete and as the redhead got to his feet again, the gash on his cheek dripped blood onto his jacket.

"Two against one..." He wheezed, hands on his knees as he tried to find his breath again after being hit by the second vampire, "Don't you think... that's kind of unfair?"

"Against you? Hardly!" Casimiro laughed as he skidded to a stop, floating a mere foot above the ground. "Though I have to admit, I'm surprised. I expected you to be a lot stronger than this."

Finas shook his head as he came to a stop as well, blue energy sparking around him and skin fizzling away from his now terrifying face. "It doesn't matter. Focus on the directive, Cas."

"Why're you even doing this!" Hanna shouted, straightening up and raising his arms in a defensive position, blue energy coiling from between his clenched fingers. "Why're you attacking me!"

The two vampires blinked. "Isn't it obvious?" Casimiro asked. Without waiting for an answer he began to laugh again, the energy sparking off of him causing the hairs on the back of Hanna's neck to stand on end. "Given what you are, you should have known this was coming. Everyone goes on and on about how you were the best of the Firefly Project, the strongest one, the final product… did you really think you could get out that easily? You should have known, your past always catches up to you and all that…"

"Cas…"

"Not now, Fin, I'm making a speech here." The energy was swirling around Cas now, building up, thrumming like a heartbeat with his giggles. "They said we were 'unstable'. They said we weren't as good as you… but in the end, they had to rely on us. Funny, isn't it? They sent us here to catch a Firefly… but really, they shoulda known better. They did say we were _unstable_, after all."

"_Casimiro_," Finas' voice was a warning tone now.

Fortunately, Casimiro seemed to be ready. With a burst of red energy he went charging at Hanna, his expression a mask of maniac ferocity.

"I'm gonna tear you apart, Thirteen!"

* * *

_Nice of us to leave you with another cliffhanger, huh? I'll try and be better about updating this but if it hasn't been updated in a while, feel free to throw something at me, I might have forgotten. Our main posting place is deviantart . com, if you go there, you can check out some of the epic awesome artwork!_

_And I'm not sure if you guys are aware or not-I dunno if I even mentioned this before-but Digi and I are roleplaying this. I'm playing Hanna, Veser, Conrad, Lamont, Ples, and Dr. Ellis. Digi's playing Eli, Worth, Anya, Cas, Finas, Toni, and...pretty much everyone else.  
_


	15. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve

* * *

**

"Where the _fuck_ are they!"

Worth's voice came out in a snarl as he paced back and forth in front of the Worthmobile, threading around each of the open doors. His thin, pale hands were clenches into fists, his coat swishing behind him and sending clouds of dust into the air. On any other occasion, it would have been fascinating to note just how little of a difference the dust made in the mess that was the alleyway.

Of course, for the moment, there were more important things to worry about.

"I said fifteen minutes, didn't I? Fifteen fucking minutes, and it's been twenty!" Worth snarled as he kicked at the ground.

"If you're so worried about them," Lamont said tensely, leaning against the back of the van, "then go after them." He was tapping his foot on the ground, his arms crossed over his chest, a subtle frown creasing his forehead.

"Don't you think I've thought of that! The slums are too Goddamn _big_, shit-for-brains!" Worth snapped, teeth grinding down on his cigarette. "Besides, it's not my fucking job to look after them! I swear, if they don't get here in _two Goddamn minutes_…"

Fortunately, the blond finally got his wish in the form of thudding paws. The doctor perked up and spun to face the source of the noise, eyes narrowing. "There you are, you Goddamn morons! What part of fifteen fucking minutes did you _not_…"

His shouting trailed off into silence as Toni finally came into view, blood covering her thick blue coat. Veser was draped across her back, unmoving.

"Shit!" Lamont shouted, jumping up and running to the werewolf's side. He crouched down and hefted Veser up, pressing a couple of finger's to the half-selkie's neck, "He's still alive, but he needs some attention. Now."

"...get... 'nough attention... from Toni..." The teenager murmured weakly, "Dun n-need it.. .from a s-stinky old... man..."

Worth didn't say a word; he was already moving. There was a loud banging noise as he leaped into the vehicle, shoving some of their newly attained supplies out of the way. "Get his ass into the van!" he snapped as he pulled out the first aid kit.

"I'm sorry," Toni gasped out as she phased back, collapsing against the side of the van and panting. "We were doing just fine against the agents, but this woman came out of nowhere and…" She shook her head, sweat coating her tanned skin. "If it weren't for Veser, I don't think we would have made it."

"You hear that, Veser?" Lamont carried the semi-conscious teenager to the van eased him onto one of the grimy back seats, "Toni gave you a compliment."

"'B-bout... time..." The half-selkie whispered, his eyes closed.

Worth scowled as he tugged Veser's hoodie and shirt aside. "How the hell did the two of you get your asses handed to you by a random woman? That's bullshit!" He snapped as he began inspecting the wound. "You're lucky it was jus' a glancing blow."

"She was the captain of the Ahimsa!" Toni exclaimed as she finally flopped into a free seat. "How were we supposed to know she was out there? I thought it was just a regular raid!"

"What the hell!" Lamont leaned through the open door of the van, Veser's blood smeared down his front. "The Captain of the Ahimsa! Then..." He looked to Worth, face pale. "Worth! Where's Hanna? We've got to get to Hanna!"

"How t' hell should I know!" the doctor snapped. "Calm the fuck down, if these two made it, he can't -"

_"He shut it off!"_ Conrad's voice suddenly screamed over the communicator, _"Hanna shut off his fucking communicator!"_

"He _what_!" Lamont screeched. "Why the hell would he do that!"

_"He just took off! Away from that Ahimsa guy! And when I tried to get him to stop he just SHUT ME OFF!"_

The doctor's eyes widened, as if something were clicking in his mind. Whatever it was, it was bad. "Goddamnit, he fucking would," he muttered. "Fagula, can you still track him or the Matrix Reloaded reject?"

_"I dunno. Hold on."_ The furious tapping of a keyboard and then: _"Fuck no. I can't find Hanna, but the Ahimsa guy's heading off on his own, too! He's probably following Hanna ...!"_

"Of course he is," Worth grumbled as he scrubbed at Veser's wound, ignoring the sticky blood that coated the inside of the van. The vehicle had certainly seen worse. "Mont? Drive, go where the lady tells you to."

Lamont just nodded once and clambered into the driver's seat, turning the key so the old van started up with a coughing rumble. Then he slammed his foot down on the accelerator and spun the wheel. The van whipped around in a squeal of tires and shot off through the slum's twisted streets.

Toni let out a groan as they spun around the corner, gripping at her seat. "Ugh, of _course_ Hanna went seeking the Ahimsa out! Why does he always have to play the hero!"

"My thoughts exactly," Worth grumbled. Because of course, Toni was right, Hanna _did_ always have to play the hero. However, the presence of the Ahimsa captain had him somewhat suspicious, especially considering recent events. He really hoped this whole mess was just another heroic excursion and nothing more.

For everyone's sake.

* * *

Hanna was in trouble.

That was the only thought the former agent needed to spur him onward. So he ran, heartbeat thudding in his ears, his breath coming out in hot puffs and burning his throat. His muscles screamed in protest and still he ran, boots thudding against the pavement, occasionally passing an Ahimsa squad and hardly giving them a second thought.

Hanna was in trouble.

_"Hey, Eli!"_ Conrad's voice rang over the communicator, _"ELI! What the hell do you think you're doing! Get out of there! There's Ahimsa everywhere! Get back to the van! Eli!"_

The former agent shook his head, though Conrad couldn't see it. "I can't. Hanna ran off, I have to get him."

There was silence from the communicator for a few minutes and then a crackle as Conrad came back on the line: _"Fine. Okay, whatever. Just keep going; the others are following you in the van. Aaaannnddd there's a weird energy spike on the computer to the north..."_

"He's probably there, then. I'm going." That was all that really needed to be said. There would be no arguments, there would be no stopping him. The former agent ran for several minutes, only occasionally needing a helpful pointer from Conrad. It was as if, in some way, he already knew where he was going.

After several blocks and twisting alleyways, Hanna's partner finally began to notice the signs of what was most likely the battle ahead. It would be hard to miss the shouts and snarls, the sound of something akin to a jet turbine, as well as the flashes of light that sent the hairs on the back of his neck on end.

And Hanna's cries of pain, well… he would have recognized those anywhere.

He was roughly a block or so away when he heard the laughter.

"Come on, Thirteen, you've got more fight in you than this! Let's see it!"

"You're the ones tag-teaming!" Hanna's voice shouted back. "Talk about unfair!"

This only made the owner of the first voice laugh harder. There came a flash of red light, followed by a heavy thud and a cry of pain from Hanna.

The former agent didn't wait to hear the rest. He sprinted down the alleyway, coat billowing out behind him as he followed the sounds of battle. The dark-haired man leaped around a corner, just in time to see a blue blur streak past him and smash into a wall. That was nearly enough to send him leaping into the fray, but what he saw next very suddenly had him frozen on the spot.

For Hanna was rising from the newly made crater in the wall, shaking from pain and exhaustion. He was covered with scrapes and bruises, blood dripping from claw marks across his abdomen. This would have been upsetting enough, but what really drew the former agent's eyes were the scars. The redhead's shirt appeared to have been torn to shreds in the battle, revealing a zig-zagging scar that trailed from just below his collar bone all the way to above his hip.

The former agent wasn't sure what was worse; this, or the tattoos. Those markings began at the point where Hanna's bracers cut off, tracing up his thin arms like thick black spiderwebs and curling over his shoulders. The redhead stumbled as he rose from the rubble, revealing the marks melding at his shoulder blades to twine into something akin to insect wings. His friend also swore he could see a roman numeral etched at the spot just below Hanna's neck, but he couldn't be sure.

As Hanna struggled to regain his balance, his bracers flared to life once more, the tattoos that spread across his skin pulsating with a similar blue light. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to get moving, as a red blur sent him slamming into another wall.

The blur came to a stop, revealing a vampire's grinning, terrifying visage. "Come on, Thirteen, what's the hold up? Aren't you supposed to be the best! I wanted to see the power that made you the _last_!"

"F-fuck you guys...!" Hanna groaned, clambering out of the hole he'd made in the wall. Bits of dirt and rubble tumbled from his hair and shoulders, one of his eyes was swollen shut, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, "You're hardly giving m-me a chance to fight back!" The redhead straightened up and clenched his fists, channeling brilliant blue energy into his hands. "Bring it on, bastards!" And he charged them, shouting wildly, azure light sparking from his body.

Before he could reach the first vampire, a second blur came seemingly out of nowhere and sent him flying into the opposite wall. "Casimiro!" It snapped as it skidded to a stop, revealing a more heavyset vampire with dark blue energy and the torn remains of a coat flaring round him. "That's enough!"

The first attacker let out another laugh, reddish brown hair falling into his glowing red eye for a moment. "What's wrong, Fin? Never played with your food before?"

His partner let out a low growl. "The _directive_, Cas. If you intend to go through with this, we need to get moving. You can feel it too."

Casimiro let out a groan, long limbs slumping. "Fine, _fine_," he grumbled, rows of sharp teeth grinding together. The energy began to spark around him, growing brighter and brighter with each pulse. The ends of his now tattered brown trenchcoat began to flutter with each pulse, like the flickering tongues of a flame. "Sorry kid, but we've got places to be. I'm sure you understand."

Hanna hauled himself out of the ruined wall, coughing, blood splattering his already stained front. Sparks shot from his bracers, one lens on glasses was shattered, and he was shaking. But he stood upright despite the quivering of his limbs and glared at the two vampires.

"No," he said in a tight voice. "You can't... I c-can't let you! There's things I... I have to finish! I can't let you!" He raised his trembling arms and appeared to be trying to charge energy into them. A few feeble sputters of blue light flickered from between his fingers, but not much else happened. The cerulean glow from Hanna's markings dimmed and then brightened again as the young redhead desperately tried to summon the energy he needed.

Fortunately, it was at this point that the former agent finally snapped out of it. In the explosions of energy, neither the vampires nor Hanna noticed his gun charging. Thus, the gunshot came as a complete surprise, a flash of red that slammed into Casimiro, sending him rocking back.

"What the _hell_!" he gasped out as he spun in the air, a trail of energy coiling in the air behind him. "Who fucking _shot_ me!"

His answer came in the form of Eli stepping out into the clearing, mahogany eyes narrowed dangerously and gun leveled before him. The weapon gave a low hum as he looked from the two vampires to Hanna. "Are you all right, Hanna?"

The redhead's blue eyes widened and he stuttered out a tentative, "Y-yeah... I guess..." He frowned a bit. "But I told you to go to the v-van! What're you doing here! Go! Before you get hurt!"

His partner shook his head, his expression grim. "Did you really expect me to leave after you ran off like that? I'm here to help, Hanna."

Finas turned face him, beady eyes narrowing as his booted feet touched down on the cracked pavement. "An Ahimsa agent?" He murmured, brow furrowing in confusion.

"What's _he_ doing here?" The other vampire grunted out as he clutched at his side, which was hissing as if it had been plunged in acid. Red sparks and bits of skin and bone could be seen fizzling around the wound, slowly mending. "Ugh, _fucking guns_… you're a dead man, Ahimsa dog!" He snarled as he kicked off against the wall, charging for the dark-haired man with claws bared.

"Bastard! Don't touch him!" Hanna roared and he jumped forward, blue light spiraling from his heels as he went. His thin hands grasped at Casimiro's skeletal frame, his expression contorted into a furious snarl of rage as he tackled the vampire, a blaze of energy leaping from his body in a dazzling display of the last traces of his power.

The two went flying through the air, glittering shooting stars in the heat of battle. They shot across the alley and connected heavily with the opposite wall, the poor aged building shuddering under what was becoming a constant torrent of abuse. Casimiro let out another laugh, his bone white face twisted into a terrible grin even as yet another wound fizzled from the back of his skull. "What? Is that really all you've got, Thirteen! I really did expect more from you!"

"Fuck you and wh-what you came for!" Hanna snapped and coughed again, blood spraying past his lips even as he kept Casimiro pinned. "Why do you even listen to them! Why d-do you let them control you! Why!" He dug his heels into the ground, pushing the vampire back, "_Why are you doing this_!"

The vampire's eyes narrowed slightly at this. "Do you just not listen?" He growled out. His booted foot suddenly shot out, nailing Hanna in the ribs and sending the redhead skidding back. "Why do we let them control us? You insolent brat, you know why! You remember the Goddamn Firefly Project, you know all about it! What we wanna know is what made you so fucking special!" He snarled as he stepped toward Hanna, red energy pulsating around his claws. "You've got the same shit in our head that we do, how can you ignore it!"

"Hanna!" The former agent called out, moving as if to run to the redhead's side.

Unfortunately for him, Finas was faster. There was a terrible crunching noise as the vampire slammed into him, a powerful clawed hand tightening around his wrist. The former agent let out a grunt, eyes narrowing as they met beady red. "Get out of my way," he growled out.

The vampire didn't so much as twitch. "I don't understand. You certainly _appear_ human… an Ahimsa agent at that. Why would you come to his aid?"

"I'm his friend," the agent replied coldly, fist tightening around his weapon. "That's all that matters." With those words he twisted, apparently trying to kick Finas away.

That almost got a smile. "Of course," Finas said as he easily dodged the kick, flipping the agent over his shoulder and sending him slamming to the concrete floor. "But still only human."

"Otis!" Hanna cried, turning to help his friend. A burst of red energy slammed into his side and sent him flying, tumbling head over heels across the ground.

"What makes you so special?" Casimiro growled out as he stalked toward Hanna, red sparks dancing from long talons. "We were left to rot with these damn chips in our heads, how is it you get to be free? It's not fucking _right_!"

"It's not my f-fault!" Hanna shouted back, clambering slowly to his feet. "Why do you all blame me! It's not... my fault! I... you think I asked f-for this..! You're _wrong_!" He tried to charge his energy again and only got sparks. "Shit...!"

His opponent let out a snort before his foot shot out again, connecting solidly with the redhead's gut and sending him to the ground once more. "Whether you asked for it or not, you still got lucky! And I dunno about you, but I'm getting _real_ sick of you being the one who-"

He was cut off by the sound of another gunshot and he turned in time to see Finas' boot slam down on the former agent's hand, forcing the man to release his weapon with a shout of pain. Casimiro let out a snort as he turned back to Hanna. "I don't believe this. You're the strongest of us all… why the hell would you have some measly human fight your battles for you?"

Hanna growled, fingers clenching in the dirt. "I'm n-not making him do anything! He's my _friend_!"

Casimiro had to grin at that as he floated over his opponent. "'Course you're not, and I'm the Goddamn tooth fairy. But let's not change the subject… why are you holding back?" he asked as he cocked his head to the side, looking for all the world like a shark circling his prey.

Hanna bit his lip and shot a quick glance at the struggling ex-Ahimsa agent before turning his glare on Cas again, "B-because I still think I can stop them! Without having to kill anyone. Without letting anymore people die...!"

This response actually gave the vampire a moment's pause. He floated before Hanna, red eye blinking. "…Stop them?" He repeated, expression one of sheer confusion. He then let out a terrible laugh, fangs twisting into a grin that stretched across the bone white of his face. He nearly doubled over with laughter, the spike-like pieces of his vertebrae clicking together. "You can't be serious! You really think you can stop them? A little brat like you? You can't even take us, what makes you think you can take the whole damn Council!"

"He will," The former agent's voice rang out, cutting off Casimiro's laughter. He was pressed against the wall now, mahogany eyes shining in defiance in spite of his split lip.

Casimiro's eyebrows shot up. "Oh? Does the little human have something to say?" He asked, turning to face Hanna's partner. His fangs were twisted into a patient sort of half-smirk, as if he were humoring a child.

Finas scowled as his grip tightened on the agent's collar. "_Cas_, we really don't have time for -"

"Come now, Fin, I'm genuinely curious," the leaner vampire drawled, holding up one fizzling claw. "Come on, Ahimsa dog. Let's hear it."

The dark-haired man grunted as he struggled against the vampire's grip. "I may not know all of what the Council does, or what's going on here… but I do know Hanna. If he says he'll change something, then he will."

There was a moment of silence as Casimiro ran this over in his mind. "That's it? Really?" He shook his head, a snicker causing his whole skeletal frame to shudder. "You really don't know anything. You say it all comes down to the will of one damn kid? Ha! How can you say that?" Here his foot suddenly shot out to kick Hanna again, sending the redhead tumbling across the concrete to land on his front.

"You don't know the first thing about us," the vampire hissed as he stalked toward Hanna and slammed his heel down on the redhead's back. This drew a horrible, agonized shout from the twenty-four year old, which only seemed to amuse his attacker.

"You don't know the first thing about _him_," Casimiro continued as he did it a second time. "You don't know what these mean, you don't know a thing about what he can do, about what he's _done_!" Each word was punctuated by a kick until the vampire finally kept his boot down, grinding it into the spot between the redhead's shoulder blades.

"You're nothing more than an ignorant human… and in the end, he's nothing more than a brat. Did you really think _this_ was worth losing everything over?" His words seemed aimed at both of them now, fangs twisted into that awful grin once again.

Hanna let out a weak whimpering noise and then cut it off, gritting his teeth. "It's more than you're doing." He hefted his back up, trying to throw Casimiro off of him. "You're not even trying, asshole!"

Casimiro's eyes narrowed as he looked to the redhead on the ground, his grin falling. "What would you know about trying?" His foot then shot out to kick Hanna again, this time flipping him another couple of feet. "Look at you. All this freedom, and you waste it for _them_!" He snarled out as he gestured to the ex-agent. "Don't you understand? We aren't _like_ you! You got to be free, you got out, you got _everything_ and you squandered it all away playing your little rebel games!" As he spoke, energy began to spark off of him in waves, coiling around him, growing and swirling like the beginnings of a storm.

"Casimiro!" Finas' voice came out in a barking yell. "Casimiro, control yourself!"

His partner paid him no heed. "I've had it! The rest of us in that damned project were locked away, forgotten, we were _nothing_! But you… you don't even realize how good you've got it!"

"Cas!"

Casimiro's voice came out in a high, garbled sort of laugh. "Relax, Fin, I'm just doing what you told me to do! You just focus on your own little problem!" With those words he turned to Hanna again, the energy gathering around him concentrating into his claws as he crossed them before himself.

At those words, mahogany eyes widened. "Hanna!" the former agent cried out, struggling with renewed vigor. This time he actually managed to get an arm free and sent a jab at Finas, only to have the free limb captured again and tugged behind him with a horrible sort of _'crack!'_.

"My apologies," His attacker's voice was a hum in his ear. "My partner lacks finesse. You should not have been involved. Regardless, this has to end. Goodbye." With those words a set of bone white fangs plunged into his neck, eliciting a cry of pain.

"Cobidine...! No!" Hanna cried weakly, trying to push himself up but his arms gave out and he collapsed into the dirt again. He squeezed his eyes shut, shaking.

Through an agonized sort of haze the ex-agent took in the rest of the scene, felt his knees grow weak even as he struggled and kept his gaze on Hanna. Casimiro was floating over him now, that gleeful, animalistic grin still in place. "Those damn scientists sent us here to kill you, but I'm not wasting any opportunity. If you're going to waste that freedom, then I'll take it from you!"

Three things happened in that instant. Casimiro's claws descended, the former agent let out a shout, and Hanna's eyes suddenly shot open to become a brilliant cerulean.

Hanna was suddenly on his feet, ignoring the blood, the bruises, the injuries, and letting out an inhuman snarl of anger. Cerulean energy practically boiled from his body, threads of power whipping through the air from the tattoos on his back, from his bracers, from his fingertips. He grabbed a hold of Casimiro's wrists, thin fingers tightening, crushing, sparks flying, and stopped the vampire cold.

The redhead growled and jerked to the side, sending Casimiro spinning through the air and slamming into a wall. Rubble and dust and red energy exploded out but Hanna had already turned away and was charging towards Finas, screaming at the top of his voice, "LET GO OF HIM!" Hanna grabbed the vampire, fingers digging into Finas' sleeve, eyes practically glowing in the azure light spilling from his thin and beaten body.

His opponent's body jerked, as if the vampire were being shocked. Finas released the former agent, his back arcing as he floated into the air. Energy seemed to explode from his thick frame, swirling around himself and Hanna in coils of glittering dark blue light, transforming to light blue as they vanished into the redhead's bracers. The vampire's eyes and mouth were widened in a horrible, choked sort of scream, inky, dark blue liquid welling up and sliding down his pale face.

It lasted for roughly twenty seconds, Finas' whole body seizing and thrashing in Hanna's grip. Finally, however, it seemed to be over. With a heavy thud, the vampire collapsed at Hanna's feet, the dark blue liquid pooling on the concrete.

The former agent, whom had collapsed against the wall while watching this display, just stood gaping. His wide mahogany eyes met Hanna's glowing blue ones, horrified.

The redhead's normally cheerful gaze was shockingly hard and cold and filled with anger. He stared back at the ex-Ahimsa for a moment that seemed like an eternity, that blaze of energy still pouring from his thin frame, coiling in the air like brilliant flames.

It was Casimiro who broke the silence. "…Oh my God… Finas… holy fuck… you _didn't_!" He breathed out. His mismatched eyes widened in horror as he gaped up at Hanna from the hole the redhead had made in the concrete. "You bastard! You fucking _killed_ him!" He made as if to rise, but after a moment his legs collapsed out from under him, leaving him a shaking heap in the rubble. His grayish, tanned skin was fizzling back into place, giving him the appearance of a broken man as opposed to a fallen monster.

Hanna's terrifying eyes turned to glare at the struggling vampire and a very un-Hanna-ish sneer spread across his features, showing all his teeth like an animal.

The former agent wasn't sure why he did what he did next. All he knew was something was wrong with Hanna, something horribly wrong, and he had to make it _stop_. So his gloved hand shot out, catching the redhead by the wrist before he could charge Cas again.

Hanna whipped around and stared at him with eyes that still blazed with hate, as though asking why his friend was stopping him. Why he was stopping him from giving the weak and wounded vampire the justice he deserved. The redhead tugged lightly on the ex-agent's grip, as though giving him a warning that if he didn't let go, Hanna was going to force him to let go.

"Hanna…" His partner trailed off, though his grip did not waver. "Don't. You're better than that."

The redhead kept staring at him for a long moment or two and then he blinked and the cold hatred in his gaze melted into the familiar light and warmth that the ex-agent recognized, though this light was filmed with pain and something like terror. He trembled in his friend's grasp, eyes widening as though suddenly just comprehending what had happened. And then, without warning, he collapsed, his thin frame seeming to crumple in on itself as he fell.

His partner caught him with ease, expression one of concern as the redhead thumped lightly against his chest. "Hanna?" He gave the redhead a light shake, feeling something within him twist when he received no response.

"That little brat…" Casimiro's voice reminded the former agent that the vampire was even there. The dark-haired man glanced up to see the shuddering vampire struggling to rise, fangs bared. "I'll fucking kill him!"

The agent scowled as he took a step back, Hanna still in his arms. His mahogany eyes flashed from his weapon - still on the ground, a few feet away from Finas' prone form - to their advancing attacker. He wasn't sure if he was fast enough to get to it before Casimiro got to them, injuries or no. Perhaps he could have ordinarily, but the adrenaline from the fight and it's abrupt end was wearing off, leaving the agent light-headed and wondering just how much blood he'd lost.

What were they supposed to do now?

Fortunately, their savior came in the form of a loud bang and a familiar hum that ordinarily would have been worrying. With an explosion of exhaust and a few unfortunate bricks from the highly abused nearby buildings the Worthmobile tore into the alley. The faded and rusted red monster nearly spun out as it came to a stop, smoke spitting from the aged grill like a dragon's maw.

The instant the van appeared, Casimiro let out a curse. Again his whole body gave a shudder and he shook his head, fangs twisting into a snarl as he jabbed a finger in Hanna and his partner's direction. "This isn't over! That kid is fucking _dead_, you hear me!" With those words there was a burst of smoke and then quite suddenly a reddish brown blur was darting into the shadows, sparks of energy in its wake.

The former agent barely noticed, as his attention was focused on the loud shriek the van's door gave as it was tugged open. "Get him in here!" Worth barked out over the roar of the jets, the fur of his coat whipping about in the wind.

Hanna's partner didn't need to be told twice. He clambered into the vehicle and was nearly thrown off balance, as the instant his booted feet left the ground the van was off. The sudden change in vertigo sent him tumbling into the only nearby empty seat, Hanna sprawled across his lap.

"Fuck!" Dark eyes darted from Hanna's limp figure back to the windshield as Lamont spun the wheel and floored the accelerator, enticing a a shriek from the vehicle as they began tearing out of the alley, "How did this happen! How the _hell_ did this happen!"

"Seriously!" Toni spoke up, her bright eyes wide as she leaned back over her seat, peering out at the alleyway they'd escaped from. "What happened to you two! Did the Ahimsa do this? Who _was_ that guy!"

The former agent shook his head, at loss for words. He lay there in his seat for a moment, eyes closed as he struggled to catch his breath. His chest rose and fell, heart thumping heavily in his chest as the aches and pains from the battle made themselves known. After a moment he looked up again, taking in the view of the interior of the van.

Veser was draped across the middle seat, Worth moving around his unconscious form and bracing himself against the wall of the van as he moved to tend to Hanna. Toni was curled in the seat next to Hanna's partner, her eyes wide as took it all in. Up at the wheel, Lamont's knuckles were white, his tension obvious even from the back.

Hanna lay in his lap, unconscious and bleeding, and, quite suddenly, it was as if he truly understood. Casimiro had certainly been right about one thing.

This was bigger than he'd thought.

* * *

He flew.

Casimiro didn't know what else to do. His body was a throbbing mess, and even in his bat form he was well aware that he no longer had the energy to heal as he had been before. But really, that didn't matter, not nearly as much as the empty space at his side. But he couldn't afford to think of that - not now. Not yet.

He flew, because he had nothing else left.

So he flew, sparks of energy flitting off of his wings, the slums swirling by him in a blur of shattered windows and aged brick. He flew and he flew and there was that tugging sensation in the back of his mind, a sort of animalistic numbness that crept through his head like water seeping into cracks in the floorboards. It was there, somewhere between fire and ice in his brain, but he let it be. They may have failed, but he wasn't going back. They had promised they weren't going back.

So he flew. He flew until he couldn't fly anymore and he found himself skidding to a stop on the asphalt, returning to his original form with a burst of smoke. The alterations had made their bodies so impossibly different, making a form that had once felt like slipping into a warm blanket into a hellish, alien sensation. The magic in his body made his bat form feel tiny and confined, like he was being shoved into a box that was several sizes too small.

That didn't change the vulnerability of him laying there now, collapsed under the shadow of a rusted five escape. His entire body was shuddering and there was something burning in his throat and for an instant he wondered if it would be worse if his heart could still beat. It was a strange thought and he very nearly voiced it, but there was that empty space at his side and it seemed so pronounced at that second that it didn't seem to matter.

And then he heard the hum of a pistol.

The vampire blinked, eyes traveling upward from the barrel of the gun in his face to the frigid eyes of the Ahimsa captain glowering down at him. Casimiro instantly slapped his most charming smile into place. "Ah, my lady… how ah… good to see you."

"Where were you going?" Anya's tone was clipped. "The checkpoint is in the other direction, Subject Twelve."

Casimiro's grin widened as he tried to rise to his knees. "Ah, yes. That. I… ah… well, you've seen these streets, my dear. They're a maze, you cannot blame one that has not seen the sun for years for being a tad confused."

Anya said nothing.

After a beat of silence, the vampire let out a sigh. "Well then, my dear captain, if that's all, I'll be on my way," he said as he finally got to his knees and began to brush himself off, trying to ignore the way his shoulders shuddered with the motion. "After all, I'd hate to be late and -" Here the vampire paused, eyes narrowing as he realized the gun had not been removed from his face. "…Captain Borokov?"

The gun did not waver.

Again came the silence before Casimiro gave a snort. "You cannot be serious. Come now, Captain. You know better than that… a beautiful lady like yourself shouldn't be so somber. Besides, you're aware of my abilities. Surely you're aware that it would take more than a gunshot to kill me."

"I am aware of your abilities, Twelve. I am also aware that even your kind cannot survive a shot to the head," Anya replied calmly.

These words seemed to make something click in the vampire's mind. "A-ah… miss Borokov, be reasonable!" He insisted as he tried to shift backwards and struggle to his feet.

"I assure you, I'm being quite reasonable, Twelve," Anya murmured as she adjusted the gun, the weapon giving a low hum in her gloved hands. "It is my job to destroy menaces to society. It is clear you have become that menace. I will not endanger my city."

The vampire's eyes widened. He tried to move, tried to run, but his legs gave way the instant he rose, sending him stumbling until his back connected with the wall behind him. His mind raced, his body shuddered, and still that empty space seemed to hang beside him, empty and cold and, damn it, all he'd _been_ for so long, he could not die here! He was free, he had finally been free!

But there was nowhere to go.

"Captain, please! I-I am on your side!" Casimiro cried out.

These words only made Anya's grip tighten on the trigger. "No, you're not."

Her shot rang through the air, silencing Casimiro's cries in an instant.

"You're just another Undesirable."


	16. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen

* * *

**

It was too quiet.

It was a large concern in Worth's lab after the group had returned, though no one had said anything. The former agent had helped to carry Hanna down the rickety stairs into the depths of the basement, the darkness of the large room broken only by the flickering screens of Worth's computers on one end and the light from Hanna's bracers before Worth had flicked the light on. Conrad had come rushing from his little intelligence corner moments later, somehow seeming grayer than before as he took in the sight of Hanna's partner laying the redhead out on the table.

"What the fuck!" The vampire had sputtered out. "What hap-."

"Save your meltdown for later, princess, we don't have time for this shit. Go help 'Mont with the van," Worth had grunted as he flopped into his office chair and slid across the room, the wheels giving loud clattering noises as he rolled over a great crack in the concrete floor. "Oi, agent guy, sit down. We've got to patch you up too."

The ex-agent had blinked as he turned from making sure Hanna was stable, ignoring Conrad stomping by with a grumble. "But Hanna-"

"Did I stutter? Sit the fuck down or I'll make you."

And so he did. Toni soon came down the stairs a minute later, her expression exhausted and somewhat nervous. "All right, Veser's asleep. He really didn't want to but those pills you gave him put him out. What, did you give him horse pills again?" She asked as she crossed the room, her boots clicking on the floor.

"You don't wanna know," Worth said patiently as he slid across the room again, dropping a tool box and a bag of first aid on the free table between Hanna and the ex-agent with a heavy _thud_! "Now get fixin', Nurse Joy. I'd do it, but I've got the Goddamn fairy princess to deal with."

The werewolf endured the nickname without complaint, motioning for the former agent to shrug off his jacket. "What happened?" She asked, eyes flicking to Hanna for a moment. They lingered on the tattoos, her expression one of a sort of pained familiarity. She'd seen them before.

Before she could get her answer, Lamont and Conrad came rushing down the stairs. "Oh hell..." Lamont froze in the doorway and Conrad slammed into him. "It's... is he still..." The dealer's wide eyes flickered to Worth, and he swallowed before finishing, "Tell me he's still alive."

As if in answer, Hanna gave a weak whimper, shifted slightly on the table, and his eyes cracked open, dull slivers of blue staring up at the ceiling. He blinked once, twice, and then with agonizing slowness turned his head until he was looking at Worth. Then his eyes widened and his expression crumpled into one of sheer agony.

"Oh God..." He whispered, voice quivering, "Worth... I... I'm sorry! Oh God, I didn't mean to!" The redhead curled up on the table, shivering, fingers digging into his hair, "I didn't want to! I d-didn't! I didn't! Please... I didn't!"

"What's he talking about?" Conrad asked but he went on ignored.

Worth was silent as he stood over Hanna, face expressionless as dark eyes watched the twenty-four year old curl up on his operating table. Finally he reached out and, with a surprising amount of gentleness, placed his hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"Kid, calm the fuck down already. You're fine," he murmured, his voice strangely calm and lacking a bit of its usual gruffness.

Hanna looked up, still shivering, his blue eyes dark with pain but still wide as he focused on the doctor. His lip quivered and he swallowed thickly. "O-okay..." He took in a shaky breath and nodded, repeating, "Okay..."

Worth gave a sigh as he moved away and began digging through his bag. "All right. Now I'm thinkin' I've got a pretty good idea of what happened, judgin' from the state of these, but let's hear it anyway," he said, tapping one of Hanna's leg bracers and not even flinching when the thing gave a furious spark. "What happened?"

Hanna winced at the spark, glanced at Worth, and then around the room at everyone else. All eyes were on him, curious and worried, and Hanna couldn't stand to look at them. He returned his gaze to the blond doctor and said in a low voice, "It was... it was two of them... you know..." He licked his lips. "It was _them_."

"Them?" Toni repeated, eyes narrowing as she dabbed at one of the former agent's many scrapes. "Hanna, what are you talking about?"

Her patient shook his head. "They were… vampires, two of them. One was very tall, one was short, but they weren't like any vampires I've ever seen before. There was some sort of…" Mahogany eyes flitted to Hanna, met wide, terrified blue before the words were altered slightly on his tongue. "…Magic, I suppose."

Worth's eyes didn't waver from Hanna's. "…One's dead, am I right?"

The former agent winced at these words, as they brought to mind glowing blue eyes and a terrifying snarl. He didn't want to think of Hanna like that, and judging from the way the redhead was acting, neither did his partner. But he had to be honest. "…Yes," the dark-haired man finally murmured as he looked to the doctor. "And if it hadn't been for that, I would be dead. Hanna saved my life."

"Don't say that...!" Hanna hissed, squeezing his eyes shut. "Please. D-don't say that...! I didn't... I... I killed... I killed..." He cut himself off with a whimper and the shivering began again.

The doctor's expression twisted into a scowl at this. "The fuck did I tell you?" He growled out as he began to clear the dried blood away from one of the wounds on the twenty-four year old's head. "Calm the hell down. You heard the man, he'd be _dead_ if it weren't for you. Shit happens, and we've been over this- damnit, _look at me_!" Worth snapped as his grip suddenly tightened on Hanna's head.

The redhead jerked upright and stared at the doctor, eyes wide, still shaking.

"Damn it, Worth!" Conrad took a step forward, thought better of it, and remained where he was, fists clenched, "He's fucking scared out of his mind! Leave him alone!"

Worth ignored him as dark eyes met brilliant, terrified blue. The doctor was not exactly known for his kindnesss and the intent of his actions was clear. If he could not reach Hanna one way, he'd do it the way he usually did- through force. "It wasn't your fault. Not this time. You can flip the hell out about it later, but right now, I need you fucking sane or _else_. We need to know why this happened, do you understand me? If you can't talk right now, then you need to keep quiet." His grip loosened, expression softening somewhat.

"Now can you tell me why they were here or not?"

Hanna's gaze flicked to the former agent for a moment before dropping to the floor, "They...were after me." He said in a quiet voice, "I...I dunno if it was to capture me or to...kill me..."

His partner nodded. "I believe they said something about the Council sending them, or maybe it was scientists…" He trailed off for a moment as he looked to Hanna again, swallowing. He didn't like talking about this, not when it was causing Hanna so much grief… but what else was he supposed to do. There was one obvious detail that had to be brought up.

So with that in mind his gaze went to Worth, eyes narrowing. "They said something about 'The Firefly Project'. Does that mean anything to you?"

The effect was subtle, a slight tensing of shoulders and widening of dark eyes, but it was there. Worth looked to the former agent, fist clenching on the cloth he'd been washing the blood away with. "…They actually said that?" Upon receiving a nod in reply, he let out a groan, placing both palms on the tabletop and bracing himself against it. "...Shit."

"Worth," Lamont's voice came out hoarse and he paused to clear his throat before speaking again, "Worth if they're after Hanna then they know where we are. They knew we were in the black market. They found us which means _someone_ tipped them off." He turned his gaze on the ex-agent and though his face was expressionless, there was a dark rage in his eyes, accusing and hating, blaming the former Ahimsa for everything that had happened.

Hanna's partner blinked, then shook his head. "No. I didn't. I was with Hanna nearly the whole time, he can vouch for me. I put that all behind me when I came here." His words were sure, steady and he met Lamont's damning gaze with an equally solid one.

He would not be blamed for something that wasn't him anymore.

Toni frowned as they flitted between the dealer and the man she was currently bandaging.. "Lamont… come on, you can't be serious. Eli doesn't have any reason to betray us," she muttered. There was a slight hesitance to her tone though, a guilty flick of the eyes to the former agent's face.

"He's not a traitor!" Hanna's voice shouted and when everyone looked at him he shrunk back, almost leaning into Worth as he did so, "H-he's not...it wasn't his fault...okay. It wasn't...it didn't have anything to do with him..." He looked pleadingly at Lamont. The dealer's eyes were still narrowed but he said nothing in return, simply crossed his arms over his chest and glared.

A heavy silence fell over the room for a moment. Finally Worth let out a sigh, running a hand through his hair as he looked to the injured ex-Ahimsa. "If Hanna says he ain't a traitor, I believe him. However… it's entirely possible he's got a chip in there that we didn't know about," he said, gesturing to the former agent's head with his lit cigarette.

Toni's brow furrowed. "So you're saying while maybe it wasn't exactly willing…"

On the table in front of her, the ex-agent fell something within him sink. "It… may have been me after all," he finished for her, eyes going to the grime-encrusted concrete floor.

"A chip?" Conrad murmured, "Are you...are you serious?" His beady eyes darted from Worth's sour expression, to Lamont's glare, to Hanna's wide and terrified eyes, "They _do_ that to people!"

"And a lot worse than that." Lamont growled.

"It wasn't him." Hanna stated, still shaken but obviously getting himself under control. At least the shaking had stopped, "I know it wasn't."

"Hanna, you can't rule that out-." Lamont began but the redhead cut him off.

"They were after _me_!" Hanna cried, hitting his fists on the tabletop, "Me! Not him! Me! They were after me!" He hunched his shoulders, gaze down, lip quivering, "It was me they wanted...and I'm putting you all in danger..."

These words drew a frustrated growl from Worth. "Goddamnit Hanna, what did I tell you? They were after _all_ of us, not just you."

Hanna looked up at the doctor, the most pathetic expression on his face, "But Worth-!"

"What. Did. I. Tell you?" Worth cut him off, jabbing a slender, greasy finger into Hanna's chest to emphasize each word. "Now is _not_ the time for your teenage angst bullshit."

Again came the silence. Then Toni forced a smile. "Hanna… listen, Worth's right. We're all a part of the resistance, it's not just you. The Ahimsa are after all of us… including Eli, for that matter. I don't think he would have gotten so beat up if he were working with them."

"That still doesn't explain how they got there," The former agent murmured, gaze still fixated on the floor.

Worth shook his head as he pulled away from Hanna and began rummaging through the medical supplies again. "It might've been a chip. Look, dun worry about it so much. I'll run a scan over the next few days, if there's anything in there, we'll catch it. So don't _you_ start pulling a Hanna and bitch about how it's your fault, you got me? We'll fucking deal, it's not like you called 'em over as your personal escorts or some shit like that."

The former agent glanced up to look at Worth, then let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "All right," he said, and in all appearances it looked as if a bit of the weight had been taken off of his shoulders. He was still worried, but Worth was right- they had other things to consider right now.

Silence for a moment or two and then Conrad blurted out, "Okay, so what the hell's The Firefly Project?"

This time Worth seemed more prepared, as he didn't even look up as he began to bandage some of Hanna's wounds. "Government project. Happened… eh, five years ago now, I guess? They were trying' to make a weapon of sorts, something to wipe out the paranormal population. It's no real secret that the Council's just hoping we'll all waste away down here, but they're smarter than that. They know we're a bunch of stubborn bastards," he murmured.

Hanna glanced up quickly at Worth, a look on his face as though begging Worth not to say anything else, before dropping his head to stare down at his boots again. Worth continued anyway. "The Firefly Project, it- damnit Hanna, move your head - it was pretty fuckin' bad. Those scientists back at Vitra tower, the thing they made… if they ever got it right, the final product could clear out the slums in a few days. Proper final solution to clearing things out for the master fucking race, you could say."

"You're _shitting_ me..." Conrad breathed, eyes wide behind his glasses, "I mean, I knew that the Council never liked the Undesirables but...but you guys are...I mean..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

Toni seemed equally shaken, the bandages nearly slipping from her hands. "But… it didn't go through, right? So it's not an issue anymore?"

The doctor shook his head, teeth grinding down on his cigarette. "That's what we thought. Couple years back when it was just us three," Here he paused to gesture absently to Lamont and Hanna, though his gaze was still heavily focused on one of the many gashes on Hanna's torso. "We got it shut down when this whole 'resistance' bullshit got started… but it looks like some asshole got it running again."

This got a furrowed brow from the former agent. "Who? I mean… I'll admit I never knew that much about the inner workings of the Council, but this seems like a lot even for them. How could they get clearance for this?"

Worth snorted. "Fuck if I know. All I know is judging from what happened here… we've got ourselves a problem and not nearly enough information about what's going on." At these words he tightened some of the bandages on Hanna again before turning to look to the group. "I'm thinking' it might be time to do a little recon."

Lamont, whose glare had been mostly focused on the ex-agent, now switched his angry gaze to Worth, shoulders tensing as his anger seemed to build. It was Conrad who spoke, however.

"Recon?" The vampire repeated, "What, are you nuts? Look at Hanna! And Eli! Neither of them are in any shape to go anywhere! And in case you didn't notice," The vampire's voice rose into a shout, "All of you just _barely_ got out of the black market alive! Veser was shot! No one in this group is in any position to go _anywhere_!"

"What!" Hanna jerked upright, nearly knocking Worth back when did, "Veser got shot! Why didn't anyone tell me!" His eyes widened in panic, "Oh no... is he... is he gonna be all right!"

Worth placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him back down. "Yes, he's fine, he's sleeping right now. Chill the hell out, your partner-in-dumbassery ain't going anywhere." With those words, he glanced around the room, eyes going from the injured Eli on the table to Toni before lingering on Conrad.

Something clicked.

"…You know, you've got a point, Princess," The doctor said slowly. "The little band of misfits needs a break…but you know, there's more t' us than the front line." A smirk came to his face as he continued to eye Conrad, the gears clearly turning in his mind. "And it sure as hell ain't what those bastards at Vitra Tower'll be expecting'."

"Wooorrrttthhh..." Lamont raised an eyebrow questioningly, "What're you planning?"

The doctor in question was simply staring at Conrad. "Well, y'know Connie… th' tragic problem about sendin' any of us to Vitra tower is we'd be recognized on the spot. Hanna's Undesirable Number One, for Christ's sake. We've got major bounties on all our heads… all except _you_."

Conrad put it together in an instant, "Hell! No! Not in a million years! Nuh-uh!" He waved his arms in front of him as though he could ward off Worth's idea, "No! No! No! NO! Absolutely _not_!"

Worth kept smirking. "You can wail and stomp your foot all you want, Princess, you're still going. Shit is going down and we need to know what's happening, y'know, _before_ the Council turns up on our doorstep. So yes, you _are_ goin'." With those words he turned back to Hanna and continued binding the bandages around the redhead's tattered chest, as if this decided the matter.

"No." Lamont cut in, "There's no way Conrad could handle himself in a situation like that! You're _not_ sending him in there!"

"No kidding!" Toni scowled as she slapped a final band-aid onto the former agent and spun to face the doctor. "You can't be serious! Worth, he has no fighting experience, he'd be dead on the spot!"

The doctor rolled his eyes, though he didn't look away from his work. "Relax, Furfag, your boyfriend's not goin' alone. You'll be with him."

The werewolf let out a sputtering noise at this, her hair actually appearing to ruffle like a dog's fur. "_Excuse me_!"

"Whoa, _what_!" Conrad screeched. "Hold on! Who ever said anything about... about _that_!"

"Can I go, too?" Hanna asked. His tone was innocent, but there was an air of _something_ behind it that sent the former agent on edge. That was the 'hero' voice'.

That was very bad.

"Hell no," Worth grunted as he finished on the wounds covering the redhead's torso. "You're not going _anywhere_ right now, you got me?"

The former agent nodded in agreement as he looked to his partner. "He's right, Hanna. You need to rest, you're far too injured right now."

"But... but I..." The redhead bit his lip, frowning more to himself than to anyone else, "I have to go. I have to."

Worth shook his head. "I already told you, no. You're fucking Undesirable number one, the last thing you need t' do is go crawling into their Goddamn hands. Besides, after this -" Here, he paused to tap one of Hanna's bracers, narrowly avoiding a spark. "You ain't going anywhere. Judging from what happened, these things are overloaded. I'm gonna have to re-calibrate these pieces of shit or you'll end blowing yourself sky-high. And no, not in the good way."

Hanna paled dramatically, "I don't like getting them re-calibrated. Can we just, I dunno, _not_ re-calibrate them?"

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Conrad shouted. "I'm not going out there! No fucking _way_ am I going out there! Not in a million years am I going out there! No way!"

The doctor looked to him, his eyes narrowing. "That so, Princess? So tell me, what do _you_ plan on doing when the Ahimsa show up on our doorstep and find out you're unregistered, eh?"

"I..." Conrad paused in his ranting, trying to think of a suitable retort and reason for why he shouldn't be sent off.

"He's. Not. Going," Lamont growled, the look on his face deadly as he glared at Worth.

The doctor pointedly ignored him, focus still on Conrad. "And how about what happens to Hanna and the rest of us? You've been sitting on your ass while we fucking feed and house you, I'd say it's about damn time you pull your own weight, eh?"

Toni scowled. "He's already been watching over us, this is suicide!"

"No, ignoring our fucking _problems_ is suicide," Worth said, still looking at Conrad. "We need the info and you and Connie are our best bet right now. With you, he can get in and out and get what we needed three days ago. You can't argue with that."

Conrad was looking more and more defeated by the minute. "W-Worth, I... I don't know how to fight! I never even asked for this! I never wanted to be a part of this stupid rebellion! That was _him_!" And he pointed at Hanna who flinched but didn't look away, "I can't...you can't suddenly expect me to become some sort of expert on espionage!"

"I _told_ you, you fucking moron, you won't be alone!" Worth growled back, jabbing a long, disgusting finger in Conrad's direction. "All you have to do is fucking _get in_ by using that pretty, _not wanted_ Goddamn mug of yours. Make some doe eyes at the ladies behind the counter - you can fucking do that, can't you?"

The former agent's brow furrowed. "I don't like this," he said as he shrugged his jacket back on. "It's true that Conrad is our best option for getting through the doors. It's possible he hasn't been wiped from the data banks yet… on the other hand, he also may be listed as missing, and that's bound to arouse suspicion." Here he looked to Worth, eyes narrowing. "It's a dangerous plan at best."

"'S a dangerous job," Worth said simply, still glaring at Conrad. "So, Connie? You'll have your fucking wolfaboo of a bodyguard. What's it gonna be?"

The vampire bit his lip, glanced around at everyone, opened his mouth, closed it again, and opened it again. But before he could say anything, someone else answered for him with a great, terrible _bang!_

"No, Worth!" Lamont snarled as he brought his palms down on one of the many tables. There was a clatter of metal as the dealer glared at the doctor, his eyes dangerous slits."No! He's not going! Toni's not going! No one's going _anywhere_!"

There was a heavy, terrible sort of silence as everyone stared at Lamont, apparently at loss for words. The dealer, normally a source of calm in their hectic group, seemed absolutely livid. Finally, after a few seconds, Worth let out a short sort of laugh.

"Well, come on now Monty, tell us how ya _really_ feel," he sneered as he gestured to the dealer.

Lamont's glare got even fiercer. Fierce enough that, if it were possible for Lamont to do so, Worth's head would surely have been engulfed in flames.

"L-Lamont...?" Hanna ventured in a hesitant voice but the dealer didn't look at him, "Hey, guys, please don't fight. Haven't we had enough of that...?"

Worth just glared right back for a moment before finally giving a snort. "All right, 'ave it your way then. Agent guy," he grunted as he flicked ash to the floor. "You're good to go, just make sure you go lie the fuck down. Take Hanna and get him out of here wit' the rest of t' girls."

Toni's brow furrowed. "But Worth, we're not -"

"I said fucking _go_." The doctor's tone was calm enough, but his eyes never left the dealer's, betraying a hint of tension beneath it all. The smoke from his cigarette gathered above them, fogging up the overly bright medical bulbs like storm clouds.

"Blane," Hanna spoke in a low voice, "we should... probably get out of here." He glanced at Toni and Conrad. "All of us."

The former agent frowned, but allowed himself to drop to the floor. "All right…" he muttered as he looped an arm around Hanna's less injured shoulder and helped the redhead off of the table.

Toni scowled as she turned to leave, shooting a parting glare at both men. "You're both ridiculous, you know that? Come on, Conrad." She snapped as she turned and stomped for the stairs in a flurry of flowing skirts.

Conrad cast a wary look at Worth and Lamont and then trailed after her, shutting the door behind him as he left the room.

The sound of the door slamming seemed eerily loud as the two were left alone in the basement. Worth calmly replaced the cigarette between his lips, arching a brow as he looked to his friend across the room.

"All right, come on. Let's hear it then."

"This," Lamont seethed, hissing between his clenched teeth, "this is _wrong_. It's a mess - no, it's _your_ mess and you know it! Don't you dare send Conrad out, don't send anyone out, to fix it up. It's wrong, Worth, it's completely fucked up!"

Worth snorted before tossing his cigarette aside, stomping it out on the concrete floor. He knew where this was going. "What, you're getting _moral_ on me? Oh, that's real fucking rich! You're a Goddamn _dealer_, the hell would you know about this?"

"I'm just as much a part of this as you are!" Lamont snapped back. "And not just me, you've gotten everyone in this rebellion involved! And don't pretend you're not angry about this either!"

The doctor rolled his eyes as he leaned back against one of the tables, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Who gives a shit if I am? No sense in fuckin' crying about it. We knew they'd be at our doorstep one way or another, this is jus' sooner than expected. All we can do now is work with what we've got, you know that."

"You're missing the point," his friend growled, not letting up. He was making his way toward the doctor now, gesturing with angry words. "Everyone's in deep shit now - not just you, me, and Hanna. They have a right to know what's going on, especially if they could die because of it! Hell, Veser got shot today, isn't that enough for you to see how much trouble we're in!"

At these words, Worth's teeth clenched, his shoulders tensing slightly. "I'm fucking _aware_, thanks. I was the one patching his sorry ass up today, I saw the Goddamn Ahimsa, I saw _Hanna_. Yeah, I can see we're in some pretty deep fucking shit. What, are you expectin' me t' _wave my Goddamn fairy princess wand_ and make it all better? You know I can't do that, so what did you expect?"

"You could at least tell them what's going on!" Lamont shouted. "Half-truths are as bad as lies in this situation, Worth. You're going to get them all killed!"

Worth shook his head. "You know I can't do that. The kid likes his secrets, always has. We can't take that from him."

"Stop hiding behind Hanna, you Goddamn coward!" the dealer roared, grabbing a fistful of the doctor's coat. "Either tell them everything or don't tell them at all but don't you _dare_ - don't you _fucking dare_ - use Hanna to hide behind what you're doing! This situation is your fault! Yours, Worth, all yours!"

Lamont's roar actually shut Worth up for a moment, the doctor blinking in shock. Lamont was normally quite calm, and even in their arguments and fights his shouts almost seemed more cathartic than true anger. This was different. This was Lamont looking like he wanted nothing more than to snap the doctor like a twig. This was the side of him that was not to be messed with.

But of course, Worth had never had much of a sense of self-preservation.

A smirk flashed across the doctor's features, something awful bubbling just below its surface. It was a humorless thing, a terrible thing, and just who he was laughing at wasn't entirely clear. Maybe it was Lamont, maybe it was him, but either way the words came out in a sneer, as if he were going out of his way to get a rise out of the dealer. "My fault? Geez 'Mont, you're jus' all about pointing fingers, ain't ya? At least I'm fucking doing something. If anyone's the coward here, it's _you_."

"Fuck _you_!" Lamont pulled back a fist and hit the doctor square in the face. "Damn it, Worth, god-fucking-damn it!" His fist came down and he hit the man again. "Call me a coward, Luce! I'm being _smart_! You promised we'd stay out of this shit! Swore it!"

Worth was still reeling from the blow, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. He then flashed something between a blood-caked grimace and a grin as he turned back to his friend. "Smart? That ain't what it looks like from where I'm standing, dumbass." His first shot out to hit Lamont back, punctuated with a growl. "You saw what happened today, the Council's on our fucking doorstep. We have to do _something_, we don't have a choice!"

Lamont's expression contorted into an angry snarl that looked almost wrong on his usually calm face. "There's always a choice!" He shook Worth violently, shouting in the man's face. "There's always a choice and you made the wrong one!"

"The wrong one? Christ, you've really lost it, haven't you?" Worth let out a harsh laugh before his knee came up, colliding heavily with Lamont's stomach.

Lamont choked and let go of Worth, stumbling back a bit to clutch at his gut. When he straightened up to lean against a table, he glared daggers at the doctor. "If anyone's lost it, it's you! You and the bullshit you spew! You just keep this going because you can't leave the fucking Council alone! You just can't let it go!"

The doctor gave a snort as a hand came up to rub at his aching jaw. "Me? I'm the one with the grudge? Take a listen t' yourself before you go pointing fingers, fatass!" Here he leaned back against his desk, arcing a brow as he glared down his nose at Lamont.

"You sit here and say it's all about my fucking problems? Look at you. Ever since that all happened, ever since your little run-in with the Ahimsa, it's all been about ducking into your pathetic little foxhole. Oh, 's all well and fucking fine if we keep our heads down but as soon as Hanna makes a friend who hits a little too close to home, suddenly that nice guy act of yours ain't so easy to keep up, is it?" This was punctuated by a finger being jabbed in Lamont's direction, eyes narrowed into slits. "So who's having trouble letting go of their checkered past? At least I'm fucking _moving_."

"DON'T. YOU. _DARE_ make this about me." Lamont said in a dangerously low voice. "This is your fault. All _your_ fault. Are you seriously going to sacrifice their lives," he pointed at the ceiling angrily, "for your stupid grudge!"

Once again Worth found himself speechless for a moment, eyes widening slightly. He then shook his head, his yellowed teeth clenching together."What… no. No, why the fuck would I do that? That's fucking stupid. None of them are gonna die, you know that. Jesus, it's just recon. It's n' like I'm sending them diving into the Goddamn trenches or something!"

"Really? 'Cause I don't think I can believe that!" Lamont snapped. "After what happened to Hanna and I, who's to say no one else is going to die! What if Conrad dies trying to get information! What're you going to do! What are _we_ going to do!"

It was these words that finally seemed to shake Worth, if only for a moment. The flash of adrenaline and that terrible smirk that always seemed to surface during a fight drained away and for an instant it was as if a weight had settled onto his shoulders. The laughing, apathetic doctor was gone and was replaced by a man who seemed all too old, had seen far too much, and understood everything a bit too well.

For an instant, he was a man standing amongst the ruins of the world, lost and alone and without a clue where to start to fix it.

After a moment, the doctor let out something between a sigh and a laugh before he finally sat down, running a hand through his hair. "Fuck, 'Mont. I don't know. But you know we can't leave things like this. We need the information. We need to do _something_; we can't just keep hiding. If we do, they'll find us and we'll be dead anyway."

Lamont continued to glare at Worth for a moment longer, as though determined to stay angry with him. Then, abruptly, he seemed to deflate, all of that rage smoldering away in an instant. This wasn't the spent, bleeding mess the two found themselves in after their usual scrapes. For that moment the two of them were just tired, middle-aged men, and any intent to fight was simply gone.

"I know," the dealer murmured, frowning at the stained and filthy floor. "I know that, Worth, I know. But...but if something happened, I just...God..." He ran a shaking hand through his black hair. "How long, Luce? How long can a couple of old idiots like us keep this up...?"

He received a weak, tired sort of laugh in response as Worth let his hands fall. "Fuck if I know. But we've gotta keep going. You know that," he murmured as he fished into his pocket for his packet of cigarettes.

"And even if we stopped, Hanna would keep fighting," Lamont added, leaning against one of the tables. "He wouldn't stop, and neither would Veser and Toni. Bunch of dumbasses..." He rubbed a hand over his face in a tired sort of way. "God, Worth, I never wanted this. I just wanted to survive, not fight, not get involved in this rebellion. I wanted to get out of that... that situation and just live somewhere else where I could get away from it. I never meant to get in this deep..."

"I know," His friend muttered as he grasped for a battered cigarette.

"Worth, look at me," Lamont ordered in a dark voice and when the doctor did, the dealer's face was blank but his dark eyes were burning. "I already lost my family once because of you. I don't want that to happen again. If something happens to Hanna - if something happens to _any_ of them - " A hurt and angry frown creased his face, "I'll _never_ forgive you."

Worth looked back at him for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words. Then he gave a snort and shook his head as he looked away, placing the cigarette in his mouth. "I know. Don't worry, I ain't gonna go and break your happy, dysfunctional little playhouse."

He pulled out his lighter and flicked it on, casting his face into harsh light. "I'll admit, 's true what you said before. I can't let those fuckers at the Council go. But tha's all right." He took a deep drag of his cigarette and breathed out, letting a new stream of smoke float into the air. "That bastard and me, it was always one giant fucking game. Obviously, he's still playing. 'S pretty fucking stupid, but if that's how it's gonna be…" The blond shook his head and leaned back in his chair, that lazy, confident grin falling back into place again.

"Don't worry your little head about it, 'Mont. If it's a game he wants, I'll fuckin' win."

* * *

The walk up to Hanna's room was quiet.

The former agent still felt rather weak, of course, and his numerous wounds and aching wrist were screaming in protest as he scaled the stairs with Hanna in tow. But of course, Hanna was worse, and he could ignore a bit of light-headedness and the strange swimming feeling in his veins that regeneration pills always gave him for a moment at least. So they scaled the rickety stairs that made up the catwalk, avoiding the one loose step as always, Toni and Conrad trailing after them.

"Are you sure you two are going to be all right?" Toni had asked as the group paused at Hanna's doorway. Conrad lingered just ahead of her, clearly anxious but unsure of what to do.

Hanna's partner nodded. "I can take it from here. You two go rest."

The werewolf flashed a small smile at this. "Always the hero, hm? All right. Come on, Conrad, let's go. Call me if you need anything."

The vampire hovered for a second, looking quite unsure. His gaze lingered on Hanna's beaten frame and then, in a hesitant tone, he murmured, "I... feel better, Hanna." And then he ducked through the door to his room and eased it shut.

Toni shook her head as she watched him go, nodded to the ex-agent, and then turned and walked away. The sound of her heels clicking against the catwalks echoed through the main room of the factory as Hanna's partner nudged open the door to the redhead's room and helped him inside, closing it behind them.

The ex-agent maneuvered around piles of junk and up the mountain of carpet that led to Hanna's mattress in silence, speaking only after he'd finally set Hanna down. "Where do you keep your extra shirts?" he asked as he stood up and glanced around the room.

Hanna didn't answer. He just sat on his old mattress and stared at the floor, his knees drawn up to his chest, thin fingers clasped around his knees, avoiding the sparks that were still spitting out of his bracers every so often.

His friend's brow furrowed in concern. "…Hanna?"

A second more of silence, and then: "Top drawer. On the right."

He received a nod in reply before the ex-agent turned to one of the dressers and pulled the specified drawer out. After tossing aside a multitude of decidedly un-shirtlike things - from books to action figured to some sort of gummy, squishy thing coated in lint - he ended up pulling out a tight dark shirt that seemed weirdly similar to the one Hanna had been wearing before.

Marveling over the odds, Hanna's partner shrugged before removing the shirt and turning to offer it to the redhead. "Here," he murmured. "That should be a bit more… comfortable." His words felt strange on his lips, He imagined it had something to do with the way his eyes strayed to the staples in Hanna's chest, as if the pieces of metal had literally snagged his gaze.

Hanna snatched the shirt from the former agent's hands and tugged it over his head, yanking it down when it got caught on his glasses and quickly covering the jagged scar on his chest.

"Thanks..." he murmured, still looking at the floor. The redhead sat for a moment, seemingly working up to speaking again, and finally said, "You all right, Remington? How's your arm?"

His partner blinked, then looked to the bandaged limb. "Ah… fine. It wasn't broken or anything, though I think the muscles are strained. I should be all right in a day or two though." He watched the redhead for a moment, then sat down on one of the carpet rolls at the foot of the mattress. "Are _you_ all right?"

"I'll be fine by tomorrow," the young man replied flatly, still not looking away from the floor. "Do you think Veser's going to be all right?"

The former agent winced as he leaned back against the thick concrete wall, eyes going to the single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling. Veser had seemed pretty bloody, but on the other hand Toni had informed them it had only been a grazing shot. "Of course he will," the dark-haired man finally murmured in what he hoped was a reassuring tone. "He's Veser. In a day or two I'm sure he'll be hitting on Toni all over again."

"Well, that's good..." Hanna said. An awkward silence fell over the room, the only sounds the buzz from the lightbulb and the hissing spark of Hanna's bracers. After a moment, the red head spoke up again, still looking at the floor. "Ssssoooo, noodles. They're... pretty good stuff, huh? I like noodles. We should have noodles tonight. That'd be cool, wouldn't it? Noodles are just -"

"Hanna," the former agent cut him off, eyes still fixated on the lightbulb. "Stop. Just… stop." He reached up to rub his temples for a moment, his eyes - still heavily shadowed from years of poor sleep - squeezing shut as he tried to make sense of it all. The sound of the occasional sparks from Hanna's bracers, the tense silence contrasting so heavily against the image of the redhead's face that afternoon.

The sight of those inhuman, glowing eyes seemed burned into his mind, and no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to get rid of them.

"Hanna," he finally murmured. "What happened out there today?"

More quiet, awkward and tinged with a heavy regret, and then Hanna muttered, "I don't know what you're talking about. Nothing happened."

This drew a frown from the former agent. "Hanna… I was there. I saw everything. I…" He trailed off, unsure of what to say. He hated to see Hanna like this, he really did. It was obvious the redhead didn't want to talk, and a part of him didn't want to make Hanna say anything. But there was another part, the part that couldn't get the images of Finas lying dead on the ground, the part that saw Hanna glaring and growling and knew that if he didn't get any answers, it wasn't going to go away.

And he didn't want Hanna locking away from him. Not like this.

"Hanna. I need to know. You don't have to tell me everything, but I need to understand."

"I don't want to talk about it." Hanna answered and a faint scowl traced his features. "Are you sure you're all right? I mean, that vampire bit you and everything. Maybe you should get Worth to take a closer look at it, just in case."

His partner let out a frustrated sigh, eyes narrowing in spite of himself. "This wasn't a normal mission, Hanna. You ran off today, something is going on, we both nearly died and you -"

"I know!" The cry was hurt and somewhat angry. "I know, okay, and I'm _sorry_!" Hanna's face was screwed up in expression of pain, eyes closed, and his tightly clenched fists pounded into his mattress, "I know what happened! I know what I did but I just didn't want anyone to see me like that!" He turned his gaze to his friend and those blue eyes were almost begging him to let it go, "I just... he was hurting you and you could have died and... and..." Hanna dropped his gaze, once again looking at the floor.

"You're probably scared of me now, aren't you...?"

Mahogany eyes blinked in surprise, the former agent simply gaping for a moment. "I…" He trailed off, struggling both to find his voice and his thoughts. _Was_ he scared of Hanna? He wasn't entirely sure.

His brain still seemed like it was having trouble comprehending the whole mess, as if it couldn't even link together the _thing_ he'd seen that afternoon with the pained redhead sitting on the mattress. It simply didn't make any sense, because those eyes had been so animalistic and that had not been Hanna because Hanna was anything but that. But they were indeed one and the same, and for an instant the former agent had to war with this fact in his mind. He shook his head, not quite sure if he was denying Hanna's words or the connection his brain was still coming to terms with.

"No," he finally said after what felt like an eternity, and what was strange was that with that single intonation he knew it was true. "No," he said again, firmer this time. "I'm not afraid of you." He could not be afraid of Hanna, because regardless of the things the redhead hid or the skeletons in his closet, Hanna was still Hanna.

He had to trust that, because if he couldn't, what else was there?

Hanna looked at him for a long moment, blue locking with mahogany. And then he blinked and turned back to the floor. "That's... good."

More silence. Hanna shuffled his feet across the floor, enticing several sparks from his bracers. He swallowed, opened his mouth, closed it again, and then finally said, "I'm really, really sorry."

His partner's expression became one of confusion. "For… what?"

"F-for everything." The redhead replied, "You got hurt and I know you said you're not scared of me but I know I kind of went batshit crazy out there - no pun intended - and then Worth probably gave you a hard time and Veser got shot and - damn it! I... I never... I'm just..." His shoulders sagged and he shook his head, unable to find the words to continue.

There was a moment of silence before the former agent rose, moving so he could properly sit next to the redhead. "Hanna," he began, trying to find words. After another beat he let out a sigh, then reached out and wrapped an arm around the twenty-four-year-old's shoulders, giving them a squeeze. "It's all right. I'm not blaming you. No one is. I may not understand what's going on… but I don't think it's your fault. Not really."

Hanna stared at him for a whole second before breaking down. He leaned against his friend, thin fingers clenched tightly onto the man's coat, his voice shaking a bit, "Y-you don't understand! It _is_ my fault! If it hadn't been f-for me then -!"

"Hanna," his partner cut him off. "No one is blaming you. Not even Worth. So let it go."

Hanna didn't look at him, just buried his face in the man's arm, still clinging tightly to his friend's coat. The quiet settled in on them again, punctuated only by the occasional shudder from the redhead. After several minutes of silence, Hanna's fingers loosened and his breathing deepened.

He had fallen asleep.

The former agent finally glanced down, raising an eyebrow. After a few moments of silence he sighed, then gently took the redhead's shoulders and moved him so he was laying down. His shifting on the mattress drew a few squeaks from highly abused springs, but Hanna didn't stir as his partner draped the thin blanket over him.

This task done, Hanna's partner stood up, gazing down at the sleeping redhead. Hanna's face was completely peaceful, the picture of innocence- a stark contrast to the being of pure rage he'd seen earlier or the twenty-four year old barely holding it together. If he was honest with himself, he wasn't sure how he felt about this. The images hurt to think of and he preferred the sight of Hanna at peace far more, but at the same time there was the part of him that hungered for answers.

"You know," he murmured, a bemused look coming to his face as he gazed down at his friend. "You never actually answered any of my questions."

A part of him had to wonder if that was a good thing.

* * *

She really did love running.

Anya Borokov couldn't help but muse on this fact as she jogged the last hundred or so yards of the track. She relished the feeling of her heart thudding in her chest, the burn of her muscles, the way the wind whipped through her hair and cooled the sweat on her skin. Her shoes thudded against the glowing path before her, her breath coming out evenly and joining in the fluid rhythm of it all.

She finally came to a stop with ease, the path vanishing below her feet and leaving her in darkness for a moment. A blue screen then flickered to life before her, displaying her time. After observing this, Anya nodded and tapped the screen once. A set of light panels flared to life at the edges of the room, revealing it to only be about twenty square feet and empty save for a holoscreen floating in front of one wall. The Ahimsa captain tapped the screen again and exited the room, stretching as she made her way down the hall of her condo.

The condo in question was as blank as the hologram room she'd been in. The walls were a stark, cold white, no pictures upon them. The main room was equally dull, with typical, straight-edged furniture placed tastefully around the living area and sleek appliances making up the kitchen. It looked like something out of a catalogue.

It also looked like no one lived there, which was essentially true. Anya's work schedule was hectic at best, meaning it was rare that she was actually home. She spent most nights in the crash room at the office, which made a day off- one like today- a rare treat.

At the very least, it meant she could finally get something done.

Anya made her way over to the sleek metal fridge and tapped the front panel. The metal vanished, sending a cool mist spilling out over her sweat-soaked skin as she reached for a water bottle. Unfortunately, before she could grasp it, her day was effectively ruined by her phone.

_"Under my thumb, a siamese cat of a girl…"_ Anya's teeth clenched together as the music blared from the thin metal object on her counter, the light on the side flashing all colors of the rainbow. She didn't know where Ellis had gotten the music or _how_ he had programed her phone to do this, but every time it went off she sincerely wished to strangle the man.

Still, the music kept playing, so Anya's hand finally shot out to snatch the device and attach it to her ear.

"_What_?" She ground out as she tapped a button on the side, glaring daggers at one of the cold white walls.

_"What the hell, Anya!"_ Ellis screeched, voice cracking and filled with rage. _"What the hell were you doing! Why did you - I just don't - EXPLAIN YOURSELF, CAPTAIN!"_

This only made Anya's scowl deepen. He only referred to her by her rank when he was pissed, and she wasn't sure if this counted as a lack of respect or not. Most likely, it was the latter. "I believe I should be asking you the same thing," she growled as she leaned against the counter. "It is my day off, _Doctor_."

_"I really don't give a damn!"_ Ellis snarled, _"Why the hell did you _pointlessly murder_ one of my projects!"_

Anya frowned. "Pointlessly murder? Sir, the Undesirable was clearly unstable. I was doing my job."

_"They're _all_ unstable!"_ Came the screaming reply, _"I told you not to interfere! You were not to interfere with the projects! I ordered you not to! Why would you do that! Answer me, Captain!"_

At these words, Anya's hands clenched into fists. "I told you, _sir_, I was doing my job. It is the Ahimsa's job to protect civilians from wild Undesirables. You may not particularly care about what happens when your little toys run amuck, but _I_ do. Is that a problem?" She hissed out, managing to sound mostly collected in spite of her growing rage.

_"Yes, it's a problem! You've ruined everything!"_ Ellis' voice continued to rise, becoming quite shrill as he continued to rant, _"You couldn't take it into custody! You couldn't contain it until we arrived to bring it back! That project was worth more than you make in a month, Captain! And you just _shot it_! Do you realize - can you even begin to comprehend - what you have done!"_

Anya grit her teeth, eyes squeezing shut. When Ellis was like this, there was no reasoning with him and she knew it. Sighing, she moved away from the counter, standing up straight. "…Understood, sir," she ground out. "My apologies. I did not realize your… priorities were not with the citizens this time around. I will not interfere with the project again."

_"Good."_ Ellis spat, _"and next time you'd better think about your actions before you - I don't know - shoot another one of my severely expensive projects! I won't tolerate another screw up! We need Subject Thirteen back here! That is Priority One, do I make myself perfectly clear?"_

The Ahimsa captain's fists were clenched so tightly, her nails were digging into her palms. _'But sir',_ she wanted to ask. _'If it's so imperative, why are you sitting back and waiting?'_ But of course, she couldn't ask. She already knew. Because to Ellis this was a game. It was a game and she wasn't the one playing. All she could do was follow along and try to minimize the causalities, like always.

"…Yes sir."

Silence for a moment as though Ellis was trying to figure out if there was sarcasm in that reply or not. When he spoke up again, there was a sneer in his voice, _"I think you're _jealous_. Jealous because you know once this project is completed you'll be _useless." A snicker over the line and then Ellis said in a serious tone, _"Anyway, I need you to come back to base. Roger that?"_ Another snicker.

Anya let out another sigh as she reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose, ignoring the first comment. "Sir, please. Again, it is my _day off_."

_"I don't care."_ Ellis was speaking in his usual demeaning manner again, a sign that his quick burst of anger was waning, _"Things are developing. And if it all goes like I think it will, we can finally end this. That's what you want, isn't it?"_

The Captain considered this for a moment. "What do you need to me to do?" She then took a swig of her water and began walking down the hall at a brisk pace, intent on a shower and quick change of clothes.

If she was stuck playing this game, she may as well do it properly.


	17. Interlude Conrad

_This one was written by me. Gotta admit, I love writing Connie._

_

* * *

_**INTERLUDE - CONRAD

* * *

**_  
_

Being different in Varuna was a dangerous thing.

Conrad Achenleck understood this very well. As a child, his mother had been terrified that her precious son was going to be an individual and had pounded into him the necessity to be just like everyone else no matter what happened. Being so young, Conrad had known no better and done what he was told, even as he suffered under the constant, high expectations his mother had set.

And as an adult, Conrad continued to follow those strict rules and guidelines.

He filed his paperwork on time, paid his taxes without complaint (well, maybe a little), held casual conversations with those individuals he loosely labeled as friends, and quietly kept to himself in his upscale condo in Sector 4B. As a graphic designer, he had a bit more imaginative freedom than the majority of the city but he knew better then to let it stray outside of the Council's standards. His work was mild and appreciated and he was content to keep it that way.

After all, standing out was against the rules.

Conrad had accepted his lot in life, felt comfortable to go along with demands and what was the possibly propaganda of the government. He knew what the Ahimsa were, knew that they did, and trusted them to protect the citizens of Varuna from the bloodthirsty Undesirables that lurked in the slums like the filthy maggots they were. For without the Ahimsa there would be naught but disorder and terrifying things like wars and fighting.

And yet, as he watched the morning news with his cup of coffee like any normal person would, Conrad couldn't help but think that even with the Ahimsa horrible things were happening anyway.

He'd seen a woman arrested on the street by the Ahimsa and dragged away from her crying child, screaming. And he'd pretended it hadn't happened. He'd watched as a group of teenagers-obviously half breed Undesirables by their semi-human appearance-got rounded up and, when one tried to resist, all of them were shot. And he'd pretended he hadn't seen it.

The government tried to do these things quietly, he understood that, but at the same time it sickened him. These creatures _looked_ human. He thought, at least, they could be treated somewhat decently. And then he'd remember the rebels.

Conrad didn't know why, exactly, these Undesirables were fighting against the Council. Their life in the slums might not have been perfect but the government had given them a place to live, away from normal people, so that order could be kept. But the rebels disrupted this order in some of the most violent ways.

Like any normal citizen, Conrad watched the news and kept himself up to date on the latest happenings. He had seen the injuries inflicted upon the Ahimsa agents who tried to stop the resistance, he'd seen the explosives go off on live video feed from the slums, he'd seen the chaos that ensued from those miserable, rebellious, peace-haters.

The most shocking event, by far, had been when he was waiting in the bus station to catch a ride home after wasting a day in the mall, searching for some upgraded art programs that had been sold out for a month. His mind had been wandering to his latest commission, trying to figure out if a warm color scheme or a cool one was better, when the dramatic jingle of the news station interrupted a rather dull sitcom and caused everyone in the station to look up at the nearest holoscreen.

_"This is Tiffany King, reporting live from Sector 6B,"_ Said the perfect news reporter into her throat mic as she stared seriously into the camera. Behind her, an Ahimsa road block was set up and beyond that was a ruined street, _"A few moments ago, a group of Undesirables broke into the Ration Station Tower just behind me. A few agents were sent in after them but we have not yet heard any information regarding the situation. Citizens are advised to stay indoors as these Undesirables are highly dangerous individuals believed to be part of the resis-."_

And explosion cut her off. The camera was tossed violently about, showing the ground, the sky, a blur of buildings, the sky again, the terrified face of the cameraman, and then finally settled back on the Ration Station Tower. A massive tangle of glass and metal was twisted out of the side of the building some three stories up in a gaping hole, debris still falling from it like chunks of flesh from a wound. The reporter seemed to be trying to find something to say but before she could, an Ahimsa agent suddenly came flying out of the hole, tumbled briefly through the air, and slammed into the pavement.

_"Oh my God...!"_ The news reporter whimpered as the camera zoomed in on the Ahimsa agent's body, _"Oh hell...! I better get a fucking raise for this! Matt! Matt, point at the building! Look at that! Are you getting this!"_

The camera swung around and showed the building again. What appeared to be streaks of blue light were flying out of the hole and, after a moment or two of this fantastic display, they stopped. Silence for a few seconds. And then another explosion rocked the camera. There was a deep rumbling sound and static crackled across the holoscreens. Conrad's mouth fell open as he watched in stunned silence. The Ration Station Tower creaked and groaned, smoke and fire pouring from it and bits of steel, glass, and cement smashing into the pavement.

_"Run!"_ A male voice-most likely the cameraman-screamed, _"It's falling! Holy fuck, the whole thing's coming down! Run, Tiffany! Run!"_

The camera turned, facing the street away from the crumbling building, and started moving jerkily to a news van parked a few feet away. But that didn't stop the sound; the screeching of twisting metal, the rumble as stone crumbled to dust, the roar of flames, and the heavy, terrified panting of the cameraman and the reporter. The van door was thrown open and the camera momentarily showed the floor before spinning about again in a dizzying blur to show the collapsing building.

_"Drive, Rick!"_ The news reporter's voice could be heard screaming off camera,_"What the hell are you gaping at! Drive! Get us out of here!"_

A squeal of tires on pavement and the camera jerked around before focusing on the falling Ration Station Tower again. It was coming down fast; even as the van pulled further and further away, the onlookers watching the holoscreens could see the whole building crumbling in on itself, the smoke and flames still spilling out of it like a gushing wound.

Conrad tore his gaze away from the screen and glanced around the station; everyone wore similar expressions of shock and all of them were staring fixedly at the holoscreens. The graphic designer swallowed thickly and pressed his back against the cold metal of the bench he sat on. The tension was so thick he could almost feel it like a physical weight, the only noise was coming from the holoscreens and the low humming of the bus engines. Conrad wanted to hold his breath for fear of making a noise and drawing attention to himself.

A loud clatter came from the entrance to his right and Conrad looked around. No one else did and he quickly switched his gaze to the holoscreen again. But out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure darting through the crowded station. A small, thin figure with a shock of red hair and a mysterious blue sparkle. They dashed through the station, carefully avoiding the groups of people even as they sped across the polished silver-white metal floor, shoes squeaking, heavy breathing echoing through the silent station and almost hidden in the noises from the news broadcast.

Conrad turned his head ever so slightly, just in time to see the figure burst out from between two groups of people whose gaze was still fixated on the news broadcast, still showing live coverage of the crumbling building. Conrad couldn't stop his eyes from widening; he took in the messy, slightly curly, burnt red hair, the gleam of glasses, and a glow of neon blue.

Then, just for an instant, as this person-a boy probably no older than fourteen-ran by him, their eyes met.

Bright blue met dark obsidian and a breathless grin flashed across the boy's face.

And then he was gone and Conrad was left staring at an empty space. He was just beginning to register what he'd seen-who he'd possibly seen-when the station came to life. The news broadcast was abruptly cut off, the boring sitcom had returned, and something at one of the station entrances was drawing people's attention. A couple of Ahimsa agents burst through the crowd at a dead run, their guns out and ready to fire, scattering people who happened to be in their way.

The two of them skidded to a halt in the same spot that Conrad had made eye contact with the redheaded rebel. One of them cursed, looking around for the person they'd been chasing, and found Conrad staring at them.

"You," He pointed his gun at the graphic designer and Conrad flinched, "Where'd he go!"

"Get your gun out his face, you dumbass!" The other agent snapped and turned to Conrad as well, "The rebel! Where did he go! He's responsible for the attack on the Ration Station Tower! Where is he!"

Conrad raised a shaking hand and pointed off to his left, "There. H-he went that way."

The agent's turned and were gone and the bustle of the station slowly returned to normal. Conrad simply sat on the bench, still trying to process exactly what had happened. And when he did, he wished he hadn't. Because he'd just done what he'd been trying to ignore for all his life. He'd sent the Ahimsa agents after another life-even the life of an Undesirable-most likely to be killed for terrorism.

"The one 'o clock bus to Sector 4B's Residential District is now loading at Station 5." Chimed the cool, mechanical voice of a woman over the loud speakers, "The one 'o clock bus to Sector 4B's Residential District is now loading at Station 5. Citizens please board in an orderly fashion."

Conrad got mechanically to his feet and walked towards the bus, his mind elsewhere. He didn't recall flashing his bas pass through the indicator, he didn't remember taking a seat at the back, and he didn't remember much of the bus trip either.

That boy and his rebel friends...had they really blown up the Ration Station Tower-the building that regulated all food supplies to the people of Varuna? Was that boy even a rebel? Had he just condemned an innocent-.

The graphic designer cut off the thought with a shake of his head. Then he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, propping his elbows on his knees as the bus moved smoothly along.

It wasn't his problem.

It wasn't his concern.

If he thought about it too much, he would become involved.

If he became involved, he would be noticed.

If he was noticed, he would be labeled as different.

Being different would be standing out.

Standing out was against the rules.

Individuality was against the rules.

Better to hide quietly and not worry about it.

So Conrad let it go, forgot about it, and went on with his life. He kept following the rules, kept obeying the laws, kept quietly to himself, kept blending in with the crowd.

Because whatever went on outside his perfect bubble of life simply wasn't his problem.


	18. Chapter 14

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN

* * *

**

To say Conrad was worried was putting it a bit lightly.

It was one thing to suddenly find yourself an Undesirable; it was one thing to be in league with the resistance and living with Undesirable Number One; it was one thing to have to deal with an asshole like Worth every single day.

It was another thing entirely to have to sneak into a government building and steal top secret information.

Conrad was on the verge of having a full-blown panic attack.

He was a graphic designer, not a thief, not a master of stealth, not someone who should be doing this mission. He saw the sense in him going instead of one of the other rebels, but that did little to quell the terror gnawing away at him. It was like the first day of school, but about fifty times worse.

The vampire darted around his tiny room, grabbing things only to toss them aside, his voice cracking as he stumbled around his room, nearly screaming, "What am I supposed to do! I'm not cut out for this! What do I do! Am I supposed to wear all black! Do I need to bring a g-gun! What do I _do_!"

There was a shrill squeak from rusted hinges as Toni poked her head in. "All right Conrad, I -" The werewolf paused, brow furrowing. A small smile then came to her face. "Are you sure you're going to need _swim trunks_?"

Conrad froze and looked around at the pile of stuff that had accumulated on his bed. A slight frown creased his face. "Those... aren't even mine..."

Toni gave a small laugh as she stepped into the room. "Well, we did have a bunch of junk left over in this room from before you moved in. I guess it's no surprise some of it's still in here," she said conversationally as she began moving stuff off of the bed.

"D-don't, wait...!" Conrad said in a voice shaking with nerves, "I... I had them all in... order..." His shoulders drooped and he slumped against the wall. "Oh, who am I kidding? ...I can't do this. I should just get out now before Worth decides to offer my liver up for auction or something..."

The werewolf frowned thoughtfully at this. "Well, as a vampire, I'm not sure you _need_ it anymore…"

Conrad looked up at her with a mortified expression. "Who's side are you _on_!"

He received a laugh in response as Toni shook her head. "Relax, I'm just trying to get you to lighten up," she murmured as she sat down on the bed, ignoring the squeaking of the springs. In spite of how out of place the dark suit she wore looked in the factory they called home, it seemed to fit her just right. "You don't need to be so nervous… or prepare so much, for that matter. We pretty much just need you to look like… well, you." The woman quirked a brow as she glanced up at the vampire. "So, yeah… you don't really need the super agent get-up."

Conrad bit his lip as he tugged at the ragged black turtleneck he'd hastily pulled on, brow furrowing in worry, "I just... I'm just really nervous about this. I mean, hell, the most horrible thing I've ever done is... I dunno, lied to my mother." He glanced up at the werewolf, looking a little ashamed. "What am I supposed to do? What if something goes wrong? I can't fight! What am I even supposed to be finding?"

Toni flashed him a sympathetic smile and shrugged. "That's up to Worth; I don't even really know what he wants. As for everything else… well, all you've got to do is listen to me. If your clearance still works, this shouldn't be that bad."

Conrad fidgeted again, dark eyes darting around the room as through trying to find an escape before they finally settled back on Toni. "Well," he murmured tentatively. "if you've got my back then... then maybe I really can do this -"

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" The door was thrown open with a bang and Veser stumbled into the room, one hand on his bandaged side, the other a fist against the open door. "You're not doing it!" He shouted at Conrad, eyes alight as he glared at the vampire, "You can't, you just can't!"

Toni's expression became a scowl as she looked to the half-Selkie. "Veser, we've been _over_ this. You're still healing!"

"Yeah, but at least I can stand up for myself!" Veser shouted back, "Connie's a wimp! What, you gonna haul ass for both of you when you get shit deep in trouble? No way! You're both screwed if Conrad goes!"

"Hey! At least I didn't get shot!" Conrad snapped back, anger flaring in his eyes.

"Fuck you!" Veser snarled, leaning heavily against the door, still clutching at his side, "You never had a chance to get shot! You just sit in here like Worth and fuck around! You're a _coward_!"

"He is not!" Toni snapped as she leaped to her feet, skirts swirling around her legs. "You know damn well if he hadn't been watching us, you would have been dead out there and on the Ark too!" she barked, jabbing a finger in Veser's direction.

Veser ground his teeth together, eyes narrowing, "He's not cut out for this and you know it! What if he gets shot too! What if he gets hurt! What if he _dies_!" The teenager's voice cracked as he shouted the words, "Is Worth gonna take responsibility for that! Are you! 'Cause Hanna sure as hell ain't gonna take it well! And I don't want to see anyone else -!" He cut himself off and shook his head, glaring daggers at Toni. "I should be going! I can fight! I can do this better than him! I'm the explosive expert! I can _do this_! Let me go instead!"

"Stop talking about me like I'm not even here!" Conrad shouted. "And I do want to help, I just..." He trailed off, head hanging.

Toni was silent, her bright eyes seeking out Conrad's. Finally after a moment she reached out, placing a gentle hand on the vampire's shoulder. "I know. It's okay. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, I promise."

Conrad looked up at her, a shaking smile tracing his face, and opened his mouth to respond, but he was cut off by another angry shout from Veser.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" the half-Selkie cried, levering himself off the door. "I said I was going! Didn't you listen to me! I'm going and you can't - ow!" Veser stumbled sideways, clutching at his injury, and turned to glare at the person who had accidentally hit him in the side.

"So sorry, Veser," Lamont said in a voice that sounded more like he was trying not to smile, shifting a box in his hands. "Misjudged the distance. Besides, I don't think you're supposed to be out of bed yet..."

"I'm fine." Veser hissed between clenched teeth, "And I'm going on this mission so you can tell Conrad to go back to his techy hole."

"No," Lamont said firmly, grabbing the half-Selkie's upper arm, "you're not."

"Yes," Veser wrenched his arm away from the dealer, "I fucking am."

Toni let out a sigh. "Veser, come on, he's right. You really do need to rest. We'll be fine. You've got to sit this one out."

"Besides," Conrad said darkly, determined to prove that he did indeed have guts. "If you came along, you'd just blow everything up."

"You wanna run that by me again?" Veser spat, fists clenching at his sides.

"All right, all right, that's enough." Lamont put an arm out, blocking Veser's path, hefting up the box he had under his other arm, "No more fighting, children, I've got a job to run to." Veser snorted and tried to press past him. Lamont frowned slightly and said in a tense voice:

"I'll get Worth."

Veser froze mid-step, glared at Lamont, and backed off, cupping his bandaged side in his hands, "Well how come you get to go...?"

"I have a job to do," Lamont repeated.

"So do I," Veser stated boldly.

"Yeah, your job is go lay down and not get shot anymore," Conrad said.

"Shut your face," Veser growled. "What about Hanna, what's he doing?"

Toni shook her head as she reached into the folds of her skirts. "He's sleeping, I think. He was pretty beat up after the other day, I'm sure Worth's got him under house arrest," she muttered as she finally pulled out a pistol and placed it in Conrad's hands. "Here. Just in case."

Conrad stared apprehensively at the weapon in his hands as though it suddenly might spring to life and bite him. Then he set his jaw and clenched his pale fingers around it. "All right. Okay. Is there anything else I need?"

The werewolf shook her head. "As long as you look like you'll fit into the inner circle, you're fine," she said before turning and looking to Lamont. "Is everything all set?"

"Mmm, should be." Lamont ran a hand through his hair, thinking for a moment. "Yeah, the car's all set and ready. You," he nodded to Toni, "just keep your head down. And you," he turned to Conrad, "act natural."

"Let me tell you how helpful that is..." Conrad muttered, rolling his eyes. But with all the bravado he was throwing up, he still couldn't stop his hands from shaking.

"I still think I should go," Veser threw in.

Toni shook her head before turning and walking toward the door. "Come on Conrad, I've still got a wig waiting for me. No sense in missing _that_ fun," she said with a roll of her eyes. In spite of the slight playfulness of her tone, however, there was a dangerous sparkle to her eyes, a slight tension to her thin frame.

She wasn't going to lose anyone today.

Conrad took a deep, unnecessary breath, let it out, and headed out the door after her, brushing past Lamont with a curt nod. He'd barely gotten a couple of steps down the hall when a voice called after him.

"Wait, hey Fagula!" The vampire whirled around, glaring angrily at Veser as the half-selkie limped towards him. "Hey, just..." The teenager shuffled on the spot for a second and then muttered, "Make sure you don't die, 'k?"

Conrad blinked at him in surprise, but before he could get in a word, Veser had turned and walked away as quickly as his injury would allow. So he missed the genuine smile the flitted briefly across the vampire's face as Conrad headed down the stairs, grip tightening on the gun in his hand.

And he was praying that he wouldn't have to use it.

* * *

"So why exactly are you doing this?"

The former agent's tone was concern as he sat on one of the cold metal tables, feeling the chill even through his slacks and gloves. His brow furrowed as his eyes followed Worth's back, watching the man as he bent over something on his desk. When he received no reply after a moment, he continued. "You gave me that scan a few days ago. You told me I was clean…"

"An' you are," Worth grunted as he leaned a bit closer to whatever he was chipping at on the table. "Haven't got a thing from the Ahimsa on you. But tha' ain't gonna shut 'Mont up, not when the tunnels th' way they are now."

"What do you mean?"

The blond shook his head. "I'm thinkin' the Ahimsa found one o' the entrances somehow. Not a ton of activity in there, but we've been seeing a rise in poor bastards gettin' picked off. 'S not too terrible, there hasn't been a ton of it and no one's _seen_ 'em, but it's enough of a risk t' warrant giving ol' Connie a car for his big day out at least."

Before the dark-haired man could ask for more on the subject, Worth spoke out. "Ah, there we are!" With those words and a triumphant grin the doctor spun in his chair, holding something _very_ small up to the light. "Let's hear 'Mont bitch at ya after this bad boy."

The former agent frowned. "What is that?"

"'Jus' a chip," the blond said as he slid across the floor in his chair. When he stopped in front of Hanna's partner he held it up. It was roughly the size of a stud earring, made of glittering steel and with a rune carved into it. The thing was so small that the former agent honestly felt a bit amazed Worth hadn't lost it yet.

"I didn't know you used runes," Worth's patient murmured as he looked to the doctor and quirked a brow.

Worth shrugged as he stood and stepped around the table, where a variety of tools was already laid out. "When ya work wit' someone like Hanna, regular technology don't exactly work all the time. This rune'll disrupt just about anything, so if you've got anything in you that I missed, this'll take care of it. Jus' stay still so I don't mess up, ya hear?" The former agent nodded, only to wince when the blond whacked him in the back of the head. "I said _still_, you fucking moron!"

"Sorry," Hanna's partner muttered as his eyes went to a blank spot on the thick concrete walls. He sat in silence for a moment, not even flinching when he felt a sharp pain behind his ear. "Why are you doing this?" he finally murmured.

"What'dya mean?" The doctor's words were punctuated by a low hum from _something_ mechanical. "I told ya, it's t' make 'Mont stop bitching, that's all."

"No." The former agent had to stop himself from shaking his head again. "You were… awfully quick to defend me. Thank you for that."

There was a moment of silence before Worth gave a snort. "Don't go mistaking what I do for kindness, dumbass. Hanna jus' likes you and I don't wanna deal with him whining about us havin' to kick his dog into the streets. Speaking of which - what the fuck were you thinking the other day?" With this came another sharp pain. "I know damn well Hanna was gettin' his ass handed t' him _before_ you came along. What were you thinking, throwing yourself in there? Did you really think your Matrix moves were gonna do _shit_ against guys _Hanna_ couldn't take on? I mean, fucking _seriously_! You're lucky you got out with a sprain and some blood loss."

At these words the ex-agent winced again. "Yes, I know. It's… hard to explain," he murmured as he kept his gaze on that patch of concrete.

"What, a fuckin' deathwish?" Worth snorted.

"No," Hanna's partner said, allowing his eyes to fall shut. "It's… just Hanna. He's always getting involved in situations like that, he never considers himself. Logically, it makes little sense. But there's something about him that makes you want to drop everything and help anyway… because someone has to."

He received nothing but silence in response to this, and, for a moment, the ex-agent thought Worth hadn't heard him. After a moment, though, there came a response. "Yeah," the doctor murmured. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

The two sat in silence for a moment, the quiet broken only by the sound of Worth's tools. Finally after a few minutes Worth took a step back. "There. That should hold. It might take a few days t' settle but as long as you don't go taking shots to your fucking _ear_ you should be fine."

"Thanks," the agent murmured, grimacing as he tried to resist the urge to rub the sore spot.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Now whatever you do, don't mess with it or get it wet or anything, or -" Worth's lecture was cut off by a crackling noise from the corner where Conrad normally did surveillance. The doctor blinked as he spun in his chair. "Huh? That time already?" He muttered before shrugging and standing, stretching as he did so to crack his back. "All right, let's get this over with." He said as he wandered over to the corner and grabbed a headset from the desk.

"Oi, Goldilocks, you haven't pissed yourself yet, have you?" Worth drawled as he flopped into the free chair and spun in it.

_"-GOD FUCKING DAMNIT I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!"_ Toni's voice shrieked over the aged speakers.

Worth blinked, brow furrowing. "Wait, what? Toni?"

_"AUGH! Worth, it's Hanna! He fucking _smashed the locks_, I'm stuck in here!"_

"What?" The former agent's eyes were wide as he rushed to Worth's side. "What is she talking about?"

"Fuck if I know." The doctor muttered before tapping the microphone. "Furfag, stop fucking PMSing for two seconds and tell us what happened."

There came a series of deep breaths from the other end. _"Hanna,"_ Toni finally ground out. _"Conrad and I got to Vitra tower. I pulled up and let Conrad out, I told him I'd be right behind him after I hid the car. But as soon as he got out, that little _bastard_ came out of nowhere and smashed my doors! I can't get out!"_

Worth's eyes widened. "…That can't… that…" He seemed to be beyond obscenities, as all he could do was spin to face the former agent and gape. "You told me he was in his room!" he finally spat out.

The former agent shook his head. "I thought he was, but he…" The dark-haired man trailed off, just staring at Worth in horror.

They should have realized things had been quiet for too long.

A gloved hand shot out to grab the back of Worth's chair. "Where is he now!" the former agent demanded.

"Hang the fuck on!" Worth snapped as he began furiously tapping at the keyboard. "Dumbass has his communicator on silent and so does Connie - fuck, of course he has it on silent- _God-fucking-damnit I am going to murder that little asswipe_. Toni, where'd the brat get off to!"

Toni let out a groan. _"He vanished into the crowd. God, he's fast when he wants to be."_

Worth grit his teeth around his cigarette. "Shit. Well, keep an eye out and keep driving, try not t' attract too much attention. Maybe get those doors unlocked. If ya see Hanna , try t' get him back… I'm gonna bet on Connie bein' the first to see him though. We'll find out when he gets t' the next stage of the plan… or at least we'd better fucking hope we do." With those words he let out a sigh and flopped back in his chair, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Christ, that kid's a fucking headache."

Sitting at his side and suddenly far more tense than he'd been in ages, the former agent had to agree with him. "Hanna," He muttered as his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "You'd better know what you're doing…"

* * *

The ride to the inner circle had been tense, to say the least.

Lamont left Conrad and Toni shortly after showing them the car, patiently pointing out the features of the sleek, black model that Conrad was surprised they even owned. After this and a quick run-through of what the vampire had to do, Lamont had smiled, patted the top of the car and wished them well. If it hadn't been for that slightly tense wrinkle in his forehead, Conrad might've thought the dealer wasn't worried.

Well, at least the "see you in a few days" sounded encouraging. The former agent's gentle well wishes were equally encouraging, and even Worth's solid gaze had a sort of confidence to it that Conrad almost believed. Because, yeah, the doctor was an ass… but for all those cheery mentions of "got your big girl panties on?", Conrad somehow got the feeling it was all an act.

After all, for all his dickery, Conrad was starting to note that Worth only sent someone on a job if he _knew_ they could do it. By the time Conrad left - leaving a final well wish for Hanna, since the vampire was sure the redhead would be upset when he woke to find Conrad gone - he was starting to feel almost okay about the whole thing.

Of course, this changed. First came the sight of Toni pulling on that brown wig - a dark coffee brown that seemed so dull compared to her usual colors. Of course it looked fantastic on her, but there was something so constricting about her blazer and tie that Conrad couldn't help but feel a bit saddened about the whole thing. Then came the car, from the faux-leather seats below him to the fancy holoscreen controls of the interior as they floated through the streets of the slums. The vampire hadn't realized just how used to dust and grime he'd become until now, and it was strange to note that what once would have felt like a saving grace now felt strangely constricting. Add that to the sight of the buildings slowly seeming to rise to life around them, slowly coming more and more into proper repair, and somehow, instead of relief, Conrad could feel something awful rising in his throat.

By the time they reached the first rusted gate and flashed their first set of papers to a downright intimidating guard, Conrad was feeling apprehensive. By the time they reached the gate to the inner circle - all white, gleaming metal and armed guards and terrifying security cameras that could probably see right through their tinted windows - well, Conrad was right back to feeling terrified again.

"I can't do this." Conrad's voice came out in a terrified squeak. "This was stupid. Why did I agree to this?" The vampire was pressing himself against the seat, fingers clenched tightly on his lap, staring with terror ahead at the approaching gate, "I can't do this, Toni, turn the car around. Let's go back. Please."

The werewolf shook her head as the dark car sailed through the airways of Varuna. She was merging into the traffic and navigating glowing walkways and glittering buildings as if she'd been doing it all her life. "We're in way too deep now. We're better off finishing what we started, those papers Lamont gave us are only going to work for awhile before the jig is up. It's going to be fine." She reached out with a soft hand to place it on the vampire's arm, reassuring. "All you have to do is walk in, just like we rehearsed, remember? Say you were with family, hand over your papers, get through security and get in the elevator. Remember?"

Conrad nodded, then shook his head, then nodded again, and then buried his face in his hands, shoulders hunched. "Yeah, yeah, I remember but... but I'm still... _scared_."

Toni glanced over at him for a moment, then gently rubbed his arm. "I know… it's all right. You're going to be fine… trust me."

Conrad shot a terrified glance at her and then dropped his gaze to his lap again, shaking his head wordlessly, too wound up in worry to speak.

They continued the drive in silence, the buildings around them growing progressively more fancy as they followed the flow of traffic. Finally, Toni came to a stop before two pure white towers, their brilliance only marred by a single line of glowing light arcing down the center of each one, with pathways zig-zagging and connecting the towers to each other. Holoscreens capped the great structure, flickering as they flashed advertisements and the Council's logo over and over again.

Toni gazed up the pure white stairs that lead to the doors, fingers tightening on the steering wheel. "Well, this is it," she murmured. "All you have to do is go in. I'll meet you in the elevators." The two sat in silence for a moment before she reached over to gently nudge the vampire.

Conrad twitched and looked up at her, "Do I really have to do this...? Can't... can't we just, I dunno, hack the system from the factory or something...?"

He received a grim smile in response. "Do you think we'd be doing this if we could just hack the Government system that easily?"

Conrad bit his lip, his fang showing more than usual, and then nodded. He reached up a shaking hand and tapped the side of his glasses, causing a tint to wash over the lenses, turning them black. Then he grabbed the briefcase and reached for the door handle.

"Toni," he said in an eerily calm voice, "you've... you've got my back, right?"

Green eyes went to his back for a moment before Toni nodded. "Of course. I'll be right behind you."

Conrad flashed her a brief smile and then pushed the door open, stepping out into a part of the city he hadn't seen in what felt like centuries and absently feeling grateful for the unusually gray sky that came _without_ acid rain for once. It was still a bit bright, but he wouldn't be bursting into flames any time soon

And now, he felt seriously out of place; wrong, like he didn't belong in this spotless, perfect city anymore. He was tainted, an Undesirable, and a vampire no less. It felt as though the entire city was watching him. The buzzing hover cars, the blinking traffic signals, the flashes of lights, the glowing lines, it all seemed so threatening all of a sudden and Conrad had to wonder how he had ever felt safe in this place.

As he walked stiffly across the perfectly clean sidewalk, a glare of red caught his attention and he almost turned around to look. But that would draw attention and attention was the last thing Conrad wanted. And yet here he was, walking right into the enemy's headquarters. A sudden chill sent a shiver down his spine and his grip tightened on the briefcase handle. Those doors seemed incredibly intimidating. Since when had doors been so scary?

But, Conrad realized as he continued forward, absently tugging at the edge of his slightly faded sweater vest, it wasn't the doors that were scaring him. It was what was _behind_ the doors.

Another wave of chilling fear rolled over him and he fought to keep his feet moving forward. He had to do this. He owed it to the resistance, to the friends he'd made, and to Hanna, for risking everything. Conrad felt he owed them that much.

He paused outside the shining, metal doors of the tower, wishing he could hear his heart thudding in his chest and knowing it never would again. Then, taking in a deep breath, he reached out and pushed the door open, stepping inside the building that was the last place on earth he really wanted to be.

The lobby of Vitra tower was just as intimidating as the outside. Much like the outside, the inside was sleek and white, not a panel out of place. Dark lines spread across the floor in decorative arcs, periodically flashing a soft blue as they crawled their way up to the desks that lined the other side of the room. Other lines spread out to a multitude of double doors that were periodically spaced on the walls to Conrad's left and right, elevators. The room was almost eerie in its order, guards standing perfectly straight in their strategic positions, citizens lined up before the desks and spaced _just_ right. Clothes were set in perfect order, eyes staring either straight ahead or at one of the many holoscreens fixed to the walls.

It was all so perfect. It also almost seemed like no one was breathing - like the citizens could have been statues.

How had Conrad _not_ realized just how unsettling this all was before?

"Sir?" A woman's voice broke the vampire from his thoughts. Her brown eyes seemed to pierce right through his sunglasses, lifeless and cold and he wasn't sure if she was suspicious or bored with his existence, everything seemed so dead. "Your ID, please?"

"Oh... yes, of course." Conrad fumbled with the front pocket of the briefcase and pulled out a neat little bunch of papers, holding them out for inspection. "I, uh, aheh, I've been... out of town."

He received a quirked brow in response.

"Uh, s-sector," the vampire quickly corrected, his lips twitching in a nervous smile. "Sorry, I meant sector. Just having an off day, you know?"

The woman gave a curt nod as she glanced over the papers. She then carefully tapped them on her desk and handed them back. "These should be in order, but I'll still need your card and chip, Mr. Achenleck."

Conrad swallowed past the lump in his throat and forced his fingers to uncurl from the fist he'd been clenching at his side. When he'd joined the rebels, Worth had cut the chip out of Conrad's finger for "safety reasons" though at the time Conrad had been sure it was just because the doctor liked to see him squirm.

A few hours ago, Worth had put the chip back in and, if anything, that had been worse. And Conrad hadn't been sure it would work and Worth's smirk-ridden assurances that it would and he knew _damn well_ what he was doing when he'd "changed shit" weren't helping his confidence.

But he had to do this. So he dug out his card and held out his hand, the tension in his body so tight he felt like he was going to snap in half.

There was a terrible moment of silence as Conrad pressed his fingertip to the scanner, and, for that terrible instant, all he could do was wonder if scans had always taken this long and just what those dead brown eyes gazing down at the holoscreen in front of her were thinking and everything else.

And then quiet suddenly the moment was passed and the woman was nodding as she handed him his card. "You're all set. Welcome home, Mr. Achenleck. Perhaps your next vacation should be a bit less short notice, hm?"

"Yeah - er, yes. Yes, ma'am." Conrad took his card back, hoping the woman wouldn't notice his fingers quivering, and stuffed it away. The relief that came with not being shot on sight did little to quell the nerves buzzing inside his frame.

The wait in line was just as nerve-wracking, if not more so. All the vampire could think of while standing there is he hoped his ridiculous tension was keeping his back as straight as everyone else's and standing there he suddenly felt incredibly aware of just how awkward his fang was in his mouth. This only seemed more obvious as he found himself giving the same "I was with family after that vampire mess in my condo" excuse to the woman behind the next desk. The questions were awkward and intrusive and Conrad suddenly found himself _really_ praying that Lamont's connections really had been enough to edit the Ahimsa files and make it seem like the incident with that vampire in his condo had indeed gone completely differently.

Fortunately, it appeared that things had indeed worked, as after several minutes of questions and a blatant lie about renewing his license so he could return to his condo, Conrad was ushered toward one of the elevators with the order to head to the twenty-second floor.

There were already several people in the elevator and Conrad shuffled in, holding the briefcase up to his chest. The doors slid shut with silent smoothness, so highly polished that the vampire could see his own pale face reflected in the metal. One of the men in the elevator reached out and hit the button for one of the basement levels.

"Uh, sir, um..." he said in a tentative voice, trying to remember elevator edict. "I... I was supposed to go to the twenty-second floor."

He received a quirked eyebrow in response as one of the guards glanced over his shoulder at the vampire. "No. You're not," he murmured, and Conrad thought he saw a smirk ghost over the man's face.

Conrad suddenly had the feeling that things just might be going wrong.

The vampire cast a quick glance around and suddenly realized that all the people in elevator were guards. Every single one of them. Alarm bells went off in Conrad's head and wished he had never agreed to this. They were going down. Down was never good.

His thoughts were cut off by a horrid screeching noise and a bang. The entire elevator car jerked and sent everyone stumbling. Conrad slammed against the doors and almost fell, still clutching the briefcase. There was another loud clang and the grate covering the air vent at the top of the elevator suddenly slammed to the floor.

A familiar face with a tangled mess of red hair and a stupid grin suddenly poked out of the opening in air vent, "Wow, thought they would have solved the whole 'sneaking through the air vents' thing, it being the future and all." Those brilliant blue eyes darted around and found Conrad's shocked expression. "Oh hey Connie, you all right? Not hurt are you?"

And then Conrad realized he'd been wrong.

Everything was going terribly, horribly, _wrong_.


	19. Chapter 15

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN

* * *

**

"Ha... Hann..." Conrad couldn't seem to find his voice. All he could do was remain slumped against the elevator door, eyes wide as he stared at the redhead before him.

"Hold that thought, Conman, I gotta deal with these guys first." Hanna jerked a thumb at the guards who, after getting over the initial shock of seeing Undesirable Number One drop into their laps, were preparing to spring into action.

Hanna never gave them the chance.

The redhead spun on the spot, his bracers shooting sparks as he moved, and collided with a guard who had already drawn his gun. He knocked the man over, toppling him onto another guard, and then dug his heel into the first one's throat for good measure as he pushed away. Hanna darted across the elevator, grabbed another guard's arm and twisted, making the man release his gun with a shout of pain. Hanna kicked the gun away, punched the man in the stomach and face, and then threw him into the wall.

Conrad, too shocked and entranced with watching Hanna fight, didn't notice that one of the guards was reaching out to grab him until the man's fingers brushed his sleeve. The vampire gave a wild shout and stumbled backwards, kicking out and catching the guard in the shins. The man cursed and lunged at him. Conrad screamed and fell over, slamming painfully into the floor and holding up the briefcase like a shield.

Hanna's boot came out of nowhere and smashed into the attacking guards face before the man could grab Conrad. There was a horrid crack and the guard fell back with a cry of pain, clutching at his bloody, broken nose. Hanna kicked the man in the head again, knocking him out, and then spun around to nail the last guard with a wicked punch to the temple. The man crumpled to the ground and did not rise again.

The redhead straightened up amongst the unconscious guards, panting slightly, and wiped a sheen of sweat from his face before turning around to face Conrad, "You okay, Connie? Those guys didn't hurt you, did they?"

Conrad opened and closed his mouth several times as he climbed slowly to his feet, still holding tightly to the briefcase like it was the last stable thing in a dissolving universe.

Hanna cocked his head to the side, "Conrad? Everything all right?"

Conrad stared at him, feeling a mixture of emotions that he couldn't quite get organized. But one thing did managed to come through the mayhem in his mind.

He needed to hurry, he needed to get this done, he needed to _get the hell out of this place._

The vampire dug into the briefcase, pulled out a thin, black USB drive, tugged open the switch board panel below the buttons, and plugged the drive into the slot. He vaguely remembered hearing Worth say something about how this would take out the cameras in the elevator and get him through to the bottom floors, floors so secret that they weren't even given a regular button to press.

The vampire suddenly found his voice again to explode: "Hanna, what the _fuck_ are you doing here! Aren't you supposed to be in bed? Where's Toni!"

"Toni... uh..." Hanna looked anywhere but at Conrad, rubbing the back of his neck in a sheepish sort of way. "She's... kind of preoccupied at the moment."

Conrad's dark eyes narrowed as he glared at Hanna, whom was smiling innocently. "What did you do?"

"Nothing bad, really. I swear." Hanna held up his hands defensively. "But look, we've got a mission to do. We can worry about the details later."

The vampire scowled as he reached up to flip on his communicator, which he'd had turned off so as to not get distracted while in the lobby. "You -"

_"HANNA FALK CROSS, I AM GOING TO FUCKING SNAP OFF THOSE BRACERS AND JAM THEM UP YOUR TINY ASS! WHAT THE _HELL_ ARE YOU DOING!"_ Worth's voice suddenly snarled into both Conrad and Hanna's ears.

"I'm helping Conrad!" Hanna shouted back as Conrad cringed at the volume of the doctor's voice, "I need to do this, Worth!"

_"No, you need to be fucking _home_, UNDESIRABLE NUMBER ONE_!" Worth snapped back. "_Besides, what part of 'your bracers need to be Goddamned recalibrated' did you not get? You're a fucking _livewire_ right now, dumbass_!"

Hanna visibly flinched but still retaliated with a defiant shout, "My bracers are fine!" Said bracers suddenly spat out an angry torrent of sparks that hissed and fizzled in the air, leaving behind a distinct smell of burnt ozone when they faded. "- er, for the most part. Look, that's not the point! Conrad needs my help!"

"That's what Toni came along for, moron!" Conrad snapped, wanting to make it clear that this was certainly not his idea.

_"Exactly. Not that she can come now, since _someone_ smashed the fucking car to make sure she couldn't get out!"_ The doctor ground out. _"She's got to come back now, you're aware of how fucking _suspicious_ that looks, right? This is why I didn't fucking send you, you don't have a Goddamn stealthy bone in your entire piece of shit body!"_

"I can do this!" Hanna argued back, actually stomping a foot on the floor and causing another shower of sparks to shot into the air, "I can do everything Toni could have done! I used the same passage way that Toni was going to use! I can _do this_, Worth!"

This elicited a full on snarl from the other end of the line. _"Fucking _hell_ Hanna, now is not th' time for this shit! You being in there -"_ He was suddenly very slight murmuring in the background, and whatever it was caused Worth to let out a growl. _"Oh for the love of- Hanna, fucking tell your _mother_ here that you didn't somehow get yourself killed - _yet_."_

Hanna blinked and then sighed, "Sheesh, Worth, I'm fine okay. You don't have to smother me or anything -"

_"I meant your Goddamn agent friend - ugh, he's _fine_, calm the fuck down and stop breathing down my neck!"_ Worth growled to what was apparently the agent behind him. _"And he'd better stay tha' way, because Hanna, your ass is fucking _roasted_ when you get back! We were _borrowing_ tha' fucking car, you just 'til Lamont gets back and he-"_

"Worth, shut the fuck and stop yelling at Hanna already!" Conrad snapped, kneading his forehead with the heel of a hand. "He's here, okay? Yes, he made a fucking royal screw up but _screaming_ at him isn't going to solve anything! And you're giving me a fucking headache so just...just shut up!"

There was a beat. _"Well well, look who finally grew a fuckin' pair,"_ Worth snickered. One could tell from his tone that he was grinning, some of his anger clearly abated by this change of events. _"Aw, that's adorable. Christ, 'm almost proud. All right, when tha' elevator stops, just go to the office at the other end of the main lab. It's noon, so those assholes are gonna be on their lunch break for a while. That program I gave you should have knocked out the cameras for a bit, so all you've gotta do is get to th' office, got it?"_

"I got it." Conrad muttered in response, scowling at his reflection (or rather, where his reflection should have been) in the polished metal doors. Now that all the fighting and yelling was over, his frustration was ebbing away, slowly give his fear and nerves a foothold again. "Just... which office am I going to again?"

_"Ellis,"_ Worth replied, and there was a slight edge to his tone. _"Doctor Godwin Ellis."_

"Godwin?" Conrad couldn't help the smirk that played across his face as the elevator came to a halt and the doors slid open. "Really? What kind of name is that?"

"A gay one," Hanna muttered, suddenly at Conrad's shoulder.

"Oh, you're one to talk. You've got a girl's name," the vampire huffed. "Come on, let's get this over with."

He stepped out the elevator and glanced around, swallowing thickly.

"Hey!" The shout made Conrad jump and spin around in time to see a guard advancing on them, gun drawn, "You're not authorized to be down here! What're you -!"

A blur of blue, a thud, and the guard collapsed. Conrad gaped at Hanna who had darted past him and struck the guard in the side of the head. The redhead looked around at him and shrugged.

Conrad shook his head and then turned to face the room, ready to get this mission over with. He hadn't counted on this much violence.

The room the two found themselves in seemed impossibly large. The white of the area seemed bright even in comparison to the lobby up above, the cleanliness of it all downright eerie. Along both walls were a series of cells, each made of what seemed to be glass and so perfectly clear that one could spot the various creatures inside. Long metal tables piled with lab equipment seemed to stretch on for ages, placed in perfect, orderly rows. The room smelled sharply of disinfectant and other chemicals, but what really caught Conrad's attention was stench of blood. Perhaps to a human it may not have been noticeable; but to him, it was everywhere, as if the room were saturated in it.

It would have been appealing had the stench of death not been so prominent with it.

And of course there were the Undesirables. Seemingly normal humans paced in their twelve square foot cells, curled up in balls in the farthest corner, twitched at the slightest noise. Creatures were spread out across tables, unconscious and seemingly gift-wrapped in wires and tubes, some clearly not breathing. A vampire was hooked up to a machine, the tubes connected to it blood red, eyes clear and white as they gazed up at the ceiling without really seeing. A werewolf could be seen laying across one table, fur saved away, skeletal chest sliced open to reveal things best unseen. No one had even bothered to cover it up.

There were fins and long scaly legs and things Conrad had only seen in nightmares and, rather suddenly, the monsters he'd feared as a child were little more than victims on operating tables.

A whimper came from behind him and Hanna's hand was suddenly clenched around a fistful of Conrad's sweater vest. Conrad didn't blame him; this place was worse than he ever could have imagined.

"Just don't look at it..." he said to himself, holding his breath so he wouldn't have to smell the horrid stench of fear and death, "don't look at it... don't look at it..." He took a stiff step forward, paused, and then kept moving.

Hanna did not loosen his grip on the vampire's shirt, sticking close to Conrad, eyes narrowed as he followed his friend through the room. He said nothing, his silence a heavy contrast to the excited tones he'd had before; even the sparks shooting from his bracers seemed subdued.

"Hanna, you all right?" Conrad ventured, glancing back at the redhead.

"Yeah," Hanna said hoarsely, "just fine. Keep moving. The sooner we get that information, the sooner we can get out of this place."

Conrad nodded and skirted one of the operating tables, gagging a bit on the stench rising from the _thing_ strapped onto it. The room seemed a lot bigger than it had, the door at the other end - their goal - seemed ages away, as though the absolute horror and misery of what was happening here was slowing them down, pulling them back, forcing them to look at what they really didn't want to see.

"Connie..." Hanna breathed, "we have to free them. We have to help."

"We can't." Conrad couldn't believe how much the words ached to say. "We can't, Hanna. We have to get what we came for and get out." He paused and then whispered, "I'm sorry..."

It was then that there was a heavy bang from one of the cells, causing the two of them to jump. Pressed against the glass of the cell closest to them was what appeared to be a vampire, judging from the way his fangs were showing. Clad in a torn up red sweatervest with strands of black hair hanging from his ponytail, he seemed as much of a mess as the rest of the group. There was something piercing about those golden eyes, however, and the words on his lips could be just heard through the glass barrier.

"You! A-are you from the outside!"

Conrad stared at him and then blinked and nodded, "Uh, y-yes. I guess you could say that..."

The vampire inside seemed to let out a gasp of relief as he leaned against the glass wall for a moment. "_Bitte, bitte_… I… I am needing of your help. _mein Liebe_, I… she…" The dark-haired vampire shook his head, sending strands of greasy hair everywhere. "There is a girl. Lenore… t-they took… please, she needs my help and I… _I_…." His voice cracked as he leaned his head against the wall again, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. "I could not save her… please… she is small, dark hair… she was only ten…. do you know where she is?"

Those golden eyes sought Hanna's bright blue ones, wide and not entirely there, but they were in agony and they were pleading.

Conrad's brow furrowed; he'd seen no such girl and was about to tell the vampire so when Hanna's voice cut him off.

"I..." The redhead's voice quivered. "No, I'm sorry we... we haven't seen her..." Hanna's fingers tightened on Conrad's shirt, pulling it out of place so the collar was taunt around the vampire's neck. "We have to... we have to go now. I'm sorry... I'm really, really... sorry..."

"Wait! Wait, please! Y-you are Mr. Cross, are you not? You…" The vampire's words faded to muffled yells as the two made their way farther into the labs, leaving him behind.

"Someday," Hanna murmured so low that Conrad almost didn't hear him, "I'm going to come back And I'm going to fix this. I'm going to make it right."

"Hanna..." Conrad began as they approached the office door, and then he paused. He wanted to comfort Hanna, to tell him that everything would be all right, but those words seemed like hollow lies. So instead he said, "Please let go of my sweater, you're strangling me."

"You don't even need to breathe..." The redhead responded but, regardless, released the death grip he'd had on Conrad's shirt, though he remained hovering at the vampire's shoulder.

"Okay, we're at the office door," Conrad said into his communicator, "And it's locked. How do we get in?"

_"Password's 'I am awesome'. Guy's fuckin' creative like that,"_ Worth grunted without missing a beat. _"Hasn't changed it in, like, fifteen years."_

Conrad frowned, but punched in the code. The door slid open with a delicate hiss of displaced air and the lights turned themselves on as soon as Conrad and Hanna stepped into the room, revealing a mess that rivaled Worth's though it was certainly more sanitary.

Teetering stacks of paper were piled up on the desk and there were several more stacks on the floor, the paper shredder had apparently gotten jammed ages ago and no one had bothered to fix it because there were wads of discarded paper balls all over the carpet, and a strange amount of horribly made paper airplanes.

"Dear God, you can hardly find the floor in all this crap..." Conrad stepped over a piled of paper. "Hanna, be careful not to knock anything ov -"

There was a thud and a fluttering sound and Conrad turned around to see Hanna standing over what had once been a tower of important looking documents. Now they were spread all over the floor. Hanna managed a sheepish smile and shrugged before edging around the mess he'd made to stand next to Conrad as the vampire took a seat at the desk and booted up the computer.

"All right, Worth, what am I doing here?" Conrad let his fingers hovering over the holoscreen keyboard that had appeared before him. "What am I supposed to do?"

_"That drive I gave you 's got everything' you need. Jus' plug it in and it'll do it's job."_ Worth said simply.

Conrad dug back into the briefcase and pulled out the USB again, sticking it into the computer. A notice flashed across the holoscreen in front of them, indicating that a new device had been found. Then several multi-colored folders popped into existence and the drive blinked, waiting to be told which files to download. Conrad's gaze traveled over the folder names, pausing on a crimson folder.

"Firefly Project?" He said questioningly, fingers poised over the 'execute' command. Beside him, Hanna's thin frame rippled with a shiver, "Subjects One through Fourteen?"

There was a moment of silence from the other end. _"….Fourteen? You sure 'bout that?"_

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure." Conrad frowned at the holoscreen. "Unless I suddenly started hallucinating, it says Subjects One to Fourteen. Why?"

_"….Nothing. Yeah, that's the stuff. Get moving and get out. The easy part's over."_

"Easy part!" Conrad hissed, hitting the command button and watching the file download. "You call that _easy_! I was almost arrested in the elevator! How the hell was that easy!"

There came a snort from the other end. _"Getting in there's never been terribly hard. 'S just getting out that'll probably be the problem."_

"You say that like you've been in here before..." Conrad said, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Connie," Hanna cut in, "the download's done."

The vampire made a noise of acknowledgment and closed down the program, tugging the USB out and stowing it away. He shut the computer down, got to his feet, and beckoned for Hanna to follow him out of the office. As the door slid shut behind them, the lights shut off and the keypad relocked itself. Conrad looked across the lab with a shudder,

"Come on, Hanna, let's get out of here."

They set off through the labs again, Hanna's fingers occasionally brushing the back of his shirt as though to make sure he was still there. They walked quickly past the glass covered cells and examination tables, Conrad fighting the urge to run when Hanna suddenly grabbed his arm, pulling him to a halt.

"What, Hanna? We have to go!" The vampire tugged but the redhead did not relinquish his grip.

"I don't..." Hanna was looking across the labs, eyes narrowed. "Something's not right..."

In the combined noise of Hanna's voice and the whir of the various computer systems, few would have noticed the low hum of a gun coming to life. Fortunately, Hanna wasn't just anyone.

"Get down!" Hanna's grip on Conrad's arm became painfully tight and yanked the vampire to the side, pulling him down to the ground with inhuman speed. A holoscreen project exploded, sending thousands of burning hot shards of tempered glass down on them. Conrad stared up at the remains of the machine, eyes wide with terror. If Hanna hadn't pulled him down, that would have been his head.

"The fuck...!" His voice squeaked, "The _fuck_ is going on! Who the fuck is shooting at us! What the _fuck_!"

Worth seemed to have a similar sentiment. _"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!"_

"Quiet!" Hanna hissed and raised his head slightly, peering over the top of the desk they'd ducked behind.

Standing amongst the various tables was a man. He was rather tall, with stocky shoulders and an imposing frame. Most of this frame, however, was buried under a leather coat, thick gloves and what appeared to be multiple layers beneath that. His hair could be made out to be a brownish-red and curly; but that was the only thing obvious about his features, as he had a pair of heavy-duty blue goggles and a face mask on. In all he seemed quite imposing, though admittedly the white ferret on his shoulder may have given one second thoughts.

Or at least it would have, had the man not had a glittering shotgun leveled at their heads.

"I know you are here, Mr. Achenleck," the man spoke, his voice a crisp, measured staccato. "My name is Abner VanSlyk, Ahimsa Hunter Division. You and Mr. Cross are hereby under arrest for trespassing, assault on government officials, aid of the resistance and failure of registration. I would recommend surrendering yourself now."

"He knows my name," Conrad breathed, fear shaking his voice. "He knows my name. How the hell does he know my name and why's he pointing that gun at me! Hanna, what did you do!"

"Well we did kind of break into a government building and knock out a ton of guards," Hanna replied in a low voice, eyeing the stranger, "but we need to get out of here. Like _now_."

"How!" Conrad's voice was a hoarse whisper.

"Your gun might help," Hanna muttered, ducking back down behind the desk as the shooter turned in their direction. "And running. Lots and lots of running."

"Shit." Conrad dug into the briefcase and pulled out the weapon Toni had handed him earlier, "Oh shit, I've never even shot a gun before! I don't know how to use this!"

"Doesn't matter." Hanna crouched low to the floor, getting ready to run. "We just gotta move and move fast."

"Hanna, where are we going to _go_!"

Hanna grinned at the vampire, eyes burning in the sparks coming from his bracers, "The air vents, of course. On the count of three, we book it over there. Ready?"

"No! Wait!"

"Onetwothree!" Hanna shot off like a rocket and Conrad stumbled after him, swearing up a storm, the gun in his hand feeling like an enormous weight that was dragging him back, slowing him down, making him an easier target.

The next few shots arched through the air, one blowing through the pile of tools on one of the tables and sending glass and metal everywhere. Each thankfully missed, but when one shot right past the vampire, Conrad had the thought that this was on purpose.

That was probably bad.

Another shot took out an entire table, the force of the blow sending the remains to block Hanna and Conrad's path.

_"Hanna! Hanna, Conrad, the _fuck_ is going on over there! Someone fucking answer me!"_ Worth snarled over the communicator, but went ignored.

"Oh shit!" Hanna dug his heels into the floor, skidding to a halt. Conrad managed to stop right behind him and they both spun around to face the oncoming attacker.

"Connie, you've got to get the information out of here and back to Doc," Hanna said, putting himself between the man and Conrad. "Just run, okay? And don't stop."

"Wh-what!" Conrad couldn't take his eyes off the barrel of the shotgun that was pointed directly at him.

"And when you get home, tell Callahan I'm sorry."

With those words and a brief smile in Conrad's direction, Hanna launched himself at the man with the gun, one hand reaching out to push the gun aside even as his other hand curled into a fist and pulled back to deliver a punch.

Unfortunately for Hanna, that was when his bracers apparently decided they'd been quiet long enough. There was an explosion of sparks from the redhead's bracers, the force blasting him and the Ahimsa Hunter apart. Abner skidded across the floor, adjusting his gun as he did so to take another shot.

"Hanna!" Conrad raced across the lab floor and crouched beside the redhead who was groaning and shaking his head. He caught the sound of a gun charging and spun to see Abner leveling his weapon again.

Conrad panicked. He grabbed Hanna, fired wildly with the gun in his hand, and took off running, dragging the groggy redhead behind him. A burst of energy whizzed past him and he shouted wordlessly, tripping over his own feet and falling to the floor. The gun spun out of his hand and skipped across the polished tile floor. Beside him, Hanna was shaking his head and sitting up.

There was a click, and the two rebels looked around to find the vampire hunter advancing on them once again, gun raised and ready to fire. Hanna's eyes widened, and he threw himself in front of Conrad, arms outstretched as though his tiny frame could shield the vampire from the hunter. It seemed unfair, really. They were mere yards away from the vent, but there was no way they were going to make it like this.

"Step away, Mr. Cross." Abner murmured as the shotgun hummed in his gloved hands. "You are both clearly outmatched and I have been ordered to kill the vampire. I would recommend surrendering."

"Fuck you," Hanna growled, clenching his fists. "Connie's my friend and there's no way in hell I'm letting you kill him!"

"Hanna, forget it! Run!" Conrad urged, scrambling to his feet, "You're a lot faster than me! Just go!"

"No!" Hanna shouted, "I'm not running off! I'm not leaving you here! Besides, you're the one with the info!"

Conrad ground his teeth together, his fang scraping the inside of his lower lip. Yes, he was terrified; there was no denying that. He couldn't ever remember being so scared in his entire life. The fear was like a vice on his stomach, turning his legs to jelly when he tried to run and keeping him petrified when he wasn't moving. It left a sick taste in his mouth, but at the same time, it left his thoughts perfectly sharp and clear.

They couldn't die here.

"You're not hurting any of my friends!" Hanna shouted and jumped at Abner again, shouting angrily, cursing the man's existence.

Unfortunately for Hanna, Abner's gun was faster. With a horrible _bang_ the redhead was sent rocketing in the opposite direction and tumbling, leaving a crimson smear across the clean white floor.

"Hanna!" Conrad's voice cracked with panic. The raw stench of Hanna's blood filled his nose, sickeningly thick in the air, and made his stomach turn over, "Hanna! Get up! Answer me!" He grabbed the redhead's shoulders and then pulled away sharply, staring at his hands. They were stained with red.

Something inside him turned inside out. He whirled around and bared his fang at Abner with a terrifying snarl. He couldn't seem to organize his thoughts; he felt the briefcase - which he'd still been clinging to this entire time - slip from his fingers and fall to the floor. And he didn't care.

All he wanted to do was tear that hunter in front of him apart.

He hissed, an inhuman sound, and brought his hands up, arching his fingers like they were tipped in claws. His skin felt tight and constricting, like it was wrong on him somehow. The smell of Hanna's blood made his head spin.

And he was angry. So angry. The fear was pushed aside by white hot anger. All he could think of was how good it would feel to kill the man who had just shot Hanna.

Abner's grip tightened on the gun in his hands, a gloved finger tapping a panel on the weapon . "Mr. Achenleck," he began coldly, not even flinching as he watched pale skin fizzle away to reveal a set of terrifying fangs and a bone-white face. "Stand down."

The sound that came out of Conrad's mouth was nothing but an angry snarl. He crouched and then jumped, clawed fingertips reaching for the hunter's neck even as strips of skin continued to peel away from his frame.

Conrad's snarl was cut off by another bang, this attack not a another shotgun burst but something different. A blur of red shot through the air before striking Conrad in the arm, eliciting a howl of pain. The vampire instantly dropped to his knees as frigid ice seemed to spread through his arm, crawling through him at an impossibly fast pace.

"I am no novice in regards to vampire hunting, Mr. Achenleck," the hunter murmured. "That serum will prevent your loss of humanity for the moment. The loss of your other functions is just a convenient side effect."

"C-Conrad!" Hanna's cry made the vampire look around. "We... we gotta run!" The redhead was still on the floor, clutching his arm to his side, blood pooling on the floor beneath him. "We gotta go!"

"N-no..." Conrad said through clenched teeth. The icy feel of the serum was painful on his insides, it hurt to talk, to even take a breath. "I can't.. .you go..."

"I'm not leaving you here!" Hanna shouted defiantly.

A low chuckle escaped Conrad's lips as he shivered, making his voice quake: "S-sorry Hanna... not giving you... a choice..." With a painful lurch sideways, he grabbed Hanna's wrist, ignoring the sting of the sparks still shooting out it, and tightened his grip. Hanna let out a yelp and then shouted, half in surprise and half in pain, as Conrad slammed the bracer against the hard floor.

Blue energy exploded out of Hanna's palm, rocketing out and heading straight towards Abner. The vampire hunter spun out of the way, letting the blast shoot right by him, but the wave of energy rolling off of the attack sent him stumbling backwards.

Conrad used the opportunity to lift Hanna up and, shuddering as the serum begun to shut his body down, and threw him into one of the grates covering an air duct. There was a clang and a shout of pain from Hanna and then bother the grate and the young redhead vanished down the vent. As an after thought, Conrad grabbed the briefcase and threw it after Hanna.

_"Connie! Hey, Conrad! What the hell happened! CONRAD!"_ Worth's voice came out in a fuzzy mess, seeming far away in spite of the communicator being right in his ear.

With the last of his strength the vampire reached up and tugged the small piece of technology out of his ear, crushing it with a final squeeze of his pale fist. Then he collapsed against the floor, frame quivering, insides aching as the serum continued to infect him. A faint smile traced his face as he listened to Hanna's shouts fade away.

Hanna had escaped. The information had gone with him. They wouldn't be able to trace his communicator back to the resistance. Everything would be all right.

He was so focused on this that he didn't notice the footsteps echoing through the air, drawing closer to him. He did notice the feel of a gun barrel pressing against the back of his head, a foreboding click and hum ringing through the sudden silence of the labs.

"Checkmate, Mr. Achenleck."


	20. Chapter 16

_Sorry for not updating in forever! I suck! Really, really, really, really sorry!_

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

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**

It hurt to wake up.

His mind slowly rose up, like through a thick, cold mud, aching with cold and thudding with pain, and with the headache his body awoke as well; stiff, rippled with white hot shots of pain.

Conrad let a moan of pain escape his lips, tilting his head back as he came fully into consciousness. His eyes cracked open, slitted against the intense, white light that was glaring down at him, and he groaned again. His head hurt so badly and his insides were on fire from the remnants of the serum. He just wanted to curl up in a corner and fall into a proper sleep so he could fight off all this pain.

But when he tried to move, he found his arms bound to the metallic chair he was sitting in. Thick, steel cuffs circled his wrists, binding his arms, more cuffs were clamped around his ankles, and there was a thick smell of fear in the air. Conrad shook his head and jerked on his restraints, terror bubbling up in his chest. The steel cuffs did not give. The vampire looked around desperately for something to help him. All that he found were cold metal walls, towering metal cabinets, and those dazzlingly bright lights that made his head ache.

"Really!" The shout made Conrad wince as a voice lanced through head: "Really! The top man, the best hunter in Varuna, the one who never lost a kill... and you couldn't capture Subject Thirteen! No! Instead, we get the _lamest_ vampire in _existence_! Seriously, he's wearing a sweater vest! What the hell is that!"

Conrad turned his head slowly, a twinge of pain shivering down his spine with the movement, and looked towards the front of the room where his chair was facing. Three people were standing in front of the door; two men and a woman; and Conrad felt a ripple of fear flow over him when he saw that one of the men was the vampire hunter, Abner.

The vampire hunter in question lowered his head. "My apologies."

"It's hardly his fault." Standing between Abner and the other man was a woman who Conrad assumed from Toni's descriptions must have been Anya. Her eyes were narrowed as she glared the other man down. "You're the one who failed to inform us that your little resistance friends knew how to patch the air vents. Perhaps you could explain to me just how they knew _exactly_ how to override our security system when it has been _five years_ since _that incident_!"

"My fault! This isn't my fault!" shouted the second man, the ends of his lab coat swirling as he spun around to face Anya. "My job isn't security, Ms. High-and-Mighty Captain of the Ahimsa! Unless I'm very much mistaken, that's _your_ department!"

Anya scowled, her entire body rigid as she stared the man in the labcoat down. Her mouth was set in a thin line, pressing ugly wrinkles into her pretty face. "No, Ellis. It is my duty to protect this tower, certainly, but we merely cover manpower. It is _your men_ who write the programs to run everything - including the sensors in those vents."

_Ellis..._ Conrad's head spun, trying to remember where he'd heard that name before, _Ellis... why is that so familiar_...?

"Who the hell cares!" Ellis shouted in response, throwing his hands into the air. "So my men messed up; believe me, there _will_ be repercussions! But at the moment, we've got a _Lamepire_ on our hands and no idea what to do with him!"

_Lamepire..._ Conrad thought, _Worth would call me that, the dick... Worth... the office we snuck into... it was Ellis' office...! It was this guy's office...!_ The vampire jerked his head up to get a better look and then groaned as another pulse of pain shook through his body.

"Well, well, well." Apparently they had heard him this time, because it was Ellis' voice talking. "It looks like our guest has awoken.. .how do you feel, Mr. Achenleck?"

Conrad wanted to tell him to stuff it, but all that came out of his mouth was another, warbled moan.

"The serum should be wearing off," Abner murmured as he reached up to scratch his ferret on the head. "Though I am unsure as to why you did not have me execute him. That was the original plan, was it not?"

Anya rolled her eyes as she folded her arms before him. "You'll notice _plans_ seem to have very little effect in regards to the doctor's everyday whims. Particularly in reference to his little playthings."

"At least I don't _shoot_ my toys." Ellis snorted, sending a brief scowl in Anya's direction. When he turned back to Conrad, a crafty smile was playing across his face as he mused, "Besides, I've always been kind of curious about the whole 'Holy Water' myth. I wonder how much he can take...?"

Dread made Conrad's headache double. He pulled on the restraints, chest heaving as he gasped in panic. He wasn't sure how many of the myths about vampires were true, but he sure as hell didn't want to find out.

From behind a pair of goggles, Abner's eyes shifted to Anya. "Captain Borokov," he said. "This was not in my orders."

Anya shook her head. "Ellis, the… treatment of Undesirables once they are captured is not the Ahimsa's responsibility." There was an obvious sense of distaste as she looked from Ellis to the bound vampire. For all her disgust as she gazed at Conrad, the message behind her words was clear.

This was not in her or Abner's job descriptions, and she had no intentions of making it so.

"Oh, really?" Ellis looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the Ahmisa Captain. "Tell me, Anya, are you at all aware of what your men do when you're not around to keep them in line? Because I can promise you that the Ahimsa agents aren't respected because they _protect_ the citizens. If anything, they're feared." And he sent a smirk in the captain's direction.

The Ahimsa captain grimaced, her eyes going to the floor. She then shook her head. "That is… sir, let's focus on the issue at hand. You informed me the vampire would be here. I gave you my best specialist and we now have one of the resistance members. What are your next orders?" Her cold blue eyes went to Conrad's now, arching an eyebrow.

"Mmmm, he'll come in handy," Ellis murmured, looking back at Conrad with an expression on his like someone studying a fine piece of art. "I'm sure we can stick a few needles in him, just to see what would happen. It's been a while since I had a vampire to play with..."

"B-bastard!" Conrad spat, his voice coming out in a hoarse rasp. "You sick freak!"

"Ouch. That hurt my feelings." Ellis chuckled, clutching at his chest dramatically before striding over to one of the cabinets, pulling it open to rummage around inside. He paused for a moment, looking back at Conrad. "Though I was taught never to hit a girl..."

Conrad's eyes narrowed and his lip curled to show his prominent fang, "You remind me someone... a grungy, no-good, jackass, hack who calls himself a doctor."

"I suppose I should feel insulted," Ellis replied, ducking back into the cabinet, "but really, it just makes me curious. If you know _him_, then maybe you can put up a lot more than a usual bloodsucker." The man straightened up, holding a collection of syringes and a bottle of clear liquid, "So, who wants to hang around and play with our vampire friend?" He looked around at Anya and Abner, a wicked smile on his face.

Anya's eyes widened. "But… sir… you already -"

"Oh please, Captain," Ellis waved a hand at her, setting everything down on a nearby table. "Don't be such a spoil sport. If you're feeling squeamish -" He plucked the largest syringe from the bunch, inspected it, and then drew some liquid from the bottle, "- then feel free to step out." He grinned and walked towards Conrad, holding up the needle. "Now, Mr. Achenleck, I feel I should warn you this might hurt just a tad."

"No, wait! Don't - !" Conrad yanked on the cuffs again, pressing his back against the chair, trying to get away from this terrifying man.

The needle slid into his arm, and Ellis pressed down on the plunger. Fire shot through Conrad's veins and he threw his head back, a scream tearing from his throat. It was worse then the serum that Abner had shot him with; where that had been ice, slowly sending him into unconsciousness, this was a blazing fire, eating away at him from the inside out, consuming him. He thrashed in his bonds, feeling like his head was going to split open, like his skin was melting, like his bones had turned to ash.

The flames died slowly, ebbing away at an agonizingly slow pace, leaving him shaking, chest tight and eyes watering, He realized he wasn't breathing and, even though he didn't need to, he took in a breath and ended up hacking.

"Stop being such a drama queen," Ellis' voice seemed to come through a long tunnel, "there's hardly any Holy Water in this." He shook the bottle under the vampire's nose and Conrad flinched. "It's mostly regular tap water. I bet it wouldn't even hurt if I did this." And the doctor dumped half the bottle onto Conrad's front.

Conrad writhed in the chair, screaming again. Threads of smoke rose from underneath his dress shirt and sweater vest, the front of his shirt sticking to his chest, and even with the small amount of Holy Water actually in with the tap water, the mixture stung with sharp needles of hot inferno.

"Oh, well, guess I was wrong." Ellis shrugged and then peered in closer. "Wow, Anya, check this out! There's _smoke_ coming off of him!" The doctor cackled with a childish sort of glee, looking back at the captain and the hunter.

Ice blue eyes were gazing down at Conrad, Anya's body tense. Aside from the tension, however, she was as impossible to read as Abner. After a moment she shook her head and looked away, as if she were trying to ignore the vampire's presence. "I… _sir_, I will ask you again. What are your orders? Am I free to dismiss Mr. VanSlyk?"

"Orders?" Ellis straightened up, tapping the tip of his syringe in his palm as he considered. "Hmmm..." His brown eyes wandered from Anya to Conrad. The vampire was doubled over in the chair, eyes closed, making strained whimpering noises. A dangerous light suddenly came into Ellis' eyes. "You want orders, Anya?" He spun on his heel and smiled charmingly at the Ahimsa captain, "You can dismiss our vampire hunter. Thank you for your services, Mr. VaannnSsssmmm..." Ellis trailed off into an inaudible mutter, unable to pronounce the name, and waved at Abner in a dismissive sort of way.

"VanSlyk," Abner corrected before looking to Anya, his gaze seeming to pass right over the vampire.

His boss gave a nod in return. "Good work. I'll be sure to call you if we have any trouble."

Abner nodded. "Thank you, Captain." With those words he turned and strode out the door, stroking his ferret as he did so.

Ellis waited for a moment after the hunter had left and then turned a serious gaze on Anya. "As for you, I need you to go pick up someone from this resistance network. I don't care who, just someone who can carry a message." He looked back over his shoulder at Conrad, "I think I've found a very good use for this little guy here..."

And he smiled that superior, all knowing smile again.

* * *

"You. Little. _Bastard_."

There had once been a time when Hanna and Veser had been messing around in Worth's lab. Hanna's bracers had gone off roughly around when Veser's hoverboard had realized that grinding down ancient stairs was a bad idea, leading to a mess that had taken a good three months - as well as way more money than Lamont was ever willing to disclose - to fix. Hanna had been fully convinced that was the maddest Worth could ever be.

He was wrong.

Really, he should have seen it coming. But after tumbling through the air vents the redhead had just been too upset to really care. The fall hadn't been so bad, as there were only a few more floors between the labs and the actual _bottom_, and of course Hanna's bracers were at least functional enough to slow his fall. That hadn't been a problem, but when he'd finally hit the ground, the redhead had wanted nothing more than to go back _up_. Of course, it was then that his bracers had decided to give up on him, and each leap and attempt to fly back up was met with screaming protests - both from his shoulder and Worth demanding to know what had happened.

It was only after ten minutes of failed attempts that Hanna heard the calm voice of the former agent in his ear, telling him that there was a passageway behind him. Said passageway had formerly been used to sneak supplies out of Vitra tower, and at the very least would make a good escape route into the tunnels. So with some final pushing from his partner, Hanna finally crawled through a cobweb-coated hole in the vents and out into the familiar tunnels.

He only had to stagger down said tunnels for a bit before the former agent directed him to an exit. Hanna had lost quite a bit of blood by this point, so he was mostly just grateful when he crawled out of a manhole into an alleyway to find Toni glaring down at him beside the _very_ dented car. He was also probably very fortunate to be bleeding, as in any other situation Toni probably would have been considerably more angry.

As it was, she had helped him into the passenger seat without too much complaint, though there was still the mutter of "you're _so_ lucky I was able to get these doors unjammed." After that and a quick patching of the wound in the redhead's shoulder came a very tense drive back through the city, Toni's knuckles white as she maneuvered through traffic and _prayed_ that the police wasn't having one of their "that particular dent looks suspicious" days.

Thankfully, the two made it home unscathed, Hanna's bleeding slowing under Toni's quick bandages. He still needed her help to make it through the door and down the stairs to Worth's lab, however… and that was when the real trouble started.

Hanna had expected yelling. What he hadn't expected was the silence, Worth sitting in his chair and simply _glaring_ at the entrance to his lab, waiting. This had been enough to cause both Hanna and Toni to pause at the bottom of the stairs.

"You just couldn't fucking _leave it_, could ya?"

The words were eerily quiet for Worth, each syllable frigid and weighted with something more terrifying than the doctor screaming had ever been.

Worth was not angry. Worth was _furious_.

Hanna couldn't look at him, not like this. He dropped his gaze to the floor, head hanging, ignoring the pain still thudding in his shoulder. The pain on the outside didn't matter as much as the agony of leaving Conrad behind.

"I'm sorry..." he said in a small voice that sounded very unHanna-ish, "but I had to, Worth. I'm sorry..."

The doctor stood, his chair letting out a shrill squeak before he stalked toward the two of them, coat billowing behind him. Long, greasy fingers shot out to grab the front of the redhead's shirt, nearly tugging him off the floor. "Look at me, you little fucking _brat_."

Toni's eyes widened and she tried to pull Hanna away. "W-Worth, wait, he's injured, you can't -"

She went ignored as the blond pulled back his arm, free hand clenching into a fist. "I oughta…" The doctor trailed off for a moment, yellowed teeth grinding together as dark eyes bore into Hanna's. Finally he let his fist drop, though the tension didn't drain from his shoulders. "Get him on the table, _now_," he spat before spinning on his heels and stalking away.

The werewolf at Hanna's side said nothing as she helped the redhead over to the usual table, her expression unreadable as she lifted him up.

Through it all, Hanna never looked up and he said nothing. He kept his eyes on the floor, shame and hurt obvious in the slump of his thin body.

It was then that there was a scuffling noise from the tech corner of the lab, a small "room" of sorts that had been haphazardly created by grouping several cabinets together. Ordinarily this was Conrad's place, but it was now Hanna's partner who was stepping out into the lab and tugging off headphones, exhaustion clear just from how he stood. "All right. I've tried watching like you said, Worth, but Conrad's just n-" Mahogany eyes swept across the room before they fell on Hanna, widening slightly.

"Hanna…" The former agent was across the room in a few strides, clearly trying to get to the redhead's side. "Are you -"

"He's fucking _fine_, Neo, back the hell off," Worth growled out as he shoved past the dark-haired man, dropping his bag of medical supplies onto the table with a horrible _clang!_. "It's jus' a fucking gunshot, that's nothing for him. Get his shirt off, Toni."

The werewolf did as she was told, ignoring the blond's grumbling about her hurried bandage attempts and wrinkling her nose at the wet noise that came with her peeling away the bandages. The wound had ceased bleeding but the gunshot had been a solid hit to Hanna's shoulder, and it showed. The ex-agent hovered at the edge of it all, seemingly unsure if he should move closer or not.

Before either of them could inspect the wound farther, Worth pushed Hanna down, grabbing a bottle with his free hand. "'S that a shotgun wound?" He grunted out as he uncapped the bottle in question. "Was there a bullet 'r no?"

Hanna nodded. "Energy shot," he murmured before falling silent again.

"Good," The doctor murmured before unceremoniously dumping the entire bottle of rubbing alcohol over the injury, plenty of the liquid splattering noisily onto the concrete floor.

Hanna flinched but did not burst into his usual whining. There was no complaining, no whimpering, no playful side remarks about how Worth wasn't even a real doctor. There was nothing but Hanna staring fixedly at the ceiling, mouth closed, not saying a word.

Toni did make a noise of protest, eyes narrowing. "Worth -"

The doctor silenced her with a glare as he swabbed the excess alcohol and blood away. After peering at the wound for a moment, he shrugged and pulled out the bandages, motioning for Hanna to sit up again. His binding of the wound was filled with tense silence, each movement punctuated with awful jerks and scowls. Toni and the ex-agent finally both took seats on the two tables flanking Hanna, both seeming unsure of what to do and decidedly uncomfortable to be in the same room as a severely pissed off Worth.

"You're damn lucky you're you. Shoulder wounds ain't exactly like they are in th' movies," Worth grunted as he finished the job, then stepped away. "So," he said coolly as he folded his arms before him. "Care t' explain just what the hell happened?"

Hanna opened his mouth to answer but at that moment there was a commotion on the stairs and Veser tore into the room, eyes blazing, "I heard the car come back! Where's Hanna! I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!" He gaze fell upon the redhead and he froze, taking in the blood soaked rag, the bandaged arm, and the lost expression on Hanna's face before launching into the questions: "What happened? And where's Conrad? What did you _do_?"

Hanna shot a tentative glance at the doctor and then dropped his gaze to the floor again.

"I just wanted... to help Conrad." He said after a moment, his voice quiet, "I didn't think it would go so wrong." The redhead swallowed thickly and his fingers clenched on the fabric of his pants, "Th-there was a vampire hunter - Abner, or something - and he... I... I couldn't... I couldn't stop him." He closed his eyes and put his face in his hands.

Toni let out a sigh as she looked to Veser. "Hanna jammed the car doors so I couldn't get out and took my place. They made it in, but…" She trailed off, mouth pressing into a thin line. Conrad's briefcase sat on one of the free tables, seeming lonely and hardly worth what was inside in comparison to everything else.

Worth let out a low growl. "You know, it's funny. Somehow I think Toni woulda done a better job, seeing as she don't have _malfunctioning fucking bracers_ grafted to her arms!"

Hanna winced at the words and hunched his shoulders as though he could ward off Worth's angry words.

Veser stared at him. "You did that? You seriously did that?" Those enormous green eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, "You stupid _fuck_!" The half-selkie stomped towards Hanna, fists clenched, anger boiling from him in an almost tangible way. "Why the hell would you go in there! Toni had him covered! Toni had it! You... you just screwed up everything! Everything! And to top it off," He halted in front of the redhead, shouting at the top of his lungs, "You left Conrad _to die_!"

At these words, Toni scowled. "Veser! I'm sure Hanna did all that he could, he'd never just leave Conrad to die! The…" She trailed off for a moment, then shook her head. "Hanna is Undesirable Number One. Conrad knew that. He was just fulfilling the mission. He did his job." Her words seemed hollow, eyes going to the floor, her expression making it appear as if saying these things was making her sick.

"He should have done more!" Veser cried, whirling around face her, "If he was going to so fucking stupid he... he... he..." But the teenager suddenly ran out of words and slammed his fist down on the table beside Hanna, teeth clenched, shaking his head. "I should have gone. It should have been me. I could have done this!"

At these words Worth blinked, then snorted. "I didn't send you for a fuckin' reason, dumbass. Your rebel without a cause bullshit would have been _worse_," he sneered. "You couldn't do stealth if you were trying to steal fucking _cookies_."

"Hey," Veser snarled, rounding on Worth, "don't try and make this about me, you stupid shit! You're the one that sent Conrad out there! It's _your_ fault too!"

Worth's eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head, he was so angry. "_My fault_!" He snarled out, hands clenching into fists. "You listen here, _Junior_, I had that shit planned! Don't you _dare_ pin this on me! Connie would have been _fine_ - hell, he _was_ fine! If _someone_ hadn't gone and fucked things up when that Goddamn vampire hunter showed up, he would be here!" With these words he rounded on Hanna again, yellowed teeth pressed into a snarl as he pointed at the redhead.

"I don't fucking care how much you think this was your fault, Hanna. I do not give a shit about your little guilt session about the other day. Did you think I fucking told you 'the bracers need to be racalibrated' because I like to hear myself fucking talk! You Goddamn _moron_!"

Hanna made a whimpering noise and bit his lip. He still said nothing but he did raised his head and look pleadingly towards the former agent, clearly hoping for something other than scorn, something other than anger, something other than disappointment.

His partner sat on the table across from him, gloved hands folded in his lap, shoulders hunched. This whole time he'd kept entirely silent, not sure of what to say. Even now, with his mahogany eyes seeking out brilliant blue, he didn't know. A part of him was breaking just to see Hanna so pained, a part of him wanted so badly to insist that it was all okay and mistakes happened and to remind the redhead that, yes, he was still there and always would be. But there was the other part that remembered the sheer panic and anxiety that had gripped him every second that Hanna had been in that tower, there was ache in his muscles from the tension as he'd stood behind Worth's chair, clutching the back in a deathgrip. There was the part of him that - even knowing Hanna was Hanna and of course this was to be expected - still honestly felt a bit betrayed and frustrated.

So when Hanna sought out his face, he only met the redhead's eyes for a moment before looking away. All Hanna was going to find was confusion, disappointment, and hurt, and the former agent couldn't bring himself to find the words.

His eyes said enough.

Hanna's eyes widened slightly and then he too looked away, obviously crushed with this lack of support.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered as though the words could fix the mess he'd made, "I tried to... I tried to get Connie to follow me but he threw me in the air vent and I... I..." Hanna's voice shook, and he looked like he was about to cry. "I couldn't get back up and he'd been shot too and...God, I'm _sorry_!" He doubled over on the table, burying his face in his hands again, trying to hide from the world.

There was a heavy silence as the group all sat there, seemingly unsure of where to go next. Finally, Toni let out a shaky breath and looked to the former agent, whom gave a slight nod. The werewolf then reached for the redhead's shoulder, biting her lip. "I… Hanna -"

Before she could say anything else, there came a set of beeps from Worth's corner desk. The whole room went silent, everyone blinking in confusion as Worth turned to face the desk in question. This particular desk was the one that most were ordered not to touch, as there was a pile of monitors - some ancient and glass, some flatscreen, some holoscreens - all wired in specific sequence and the doctor had made it impossibly clear that if these computers were so much as _breathed_ on there would be "words". For the moment all the screens were glowing and there was a small blue mail symbol flashing on one of them, seeming strangely chipper in the whole mess.

Worth watched this for a moment, then let out a growl as he strode toward the computer. "We ain't finished, brat," he growled to Hanna before tapping a few keys on a keyboard that was so ancient and dusty it actually came in plastic. "Message forwarded from Down The Rabbit Hole - fuckin' hell, now's not the time…"

The instant he touched these keys a video file opened, the window popping up on each screen to reveal something that left them all speechless.

It was like a scene from one of Hanna's old movies: a dark room with a single, harshly bright light shining down on a chair in the middle of the room.

And strapped to the chair with heavy steel cuffs was Conrad.

He was slouched over, head drooping far enough so that his chin was touching his chest. The sleeves of his shirt had been ripped away, and there were cuts, burns, and bruises across his pale arms. His hair was matted and hung in his face, his glasses were cracked, and he seemed almost skeletal, as though he was wasting away.

"Connie -!" Hanna cried but Veser shushed him, the half-selkie's face a mask of anger and horror.

Then the camera moved and tilted and a voice declared happily, _"I am Dr. Ellis and I approve this message."_ A giggle. _"Hahaha, I've always wanted to say that. Anyway, hhhheeellllllooooo Worth! Long time no see! Did you miss me?"_

Worth visibly tensed, his shoulders going rigid, eyes widening. Toni looked from the screen to Worth, brow furrowing as she opened her mouth to ask. Before she could get any words out, however, Worth held up a hand, eyes glued to the screen.

_"Look what I got, Worth? I got one of your toys. Who looks stupid now? You do!"_ Footsteps, the camera moved forward jerkily, focusing in closer on Conrad, _"Though this one seems to be a tad more pathetic than your usual playthings... hhhmmm. Come on, Failpire, smile for the camera! Show Worthy how easy it is to _break_ his toys."_

On the screen, a hand came out and tapped Conrad on the top of his head. The vampire groaned and looked up, his eyes thin slits of dull red in the light. He looked at the camera with disinterest for a moment and then dropped his head again.

_"He doesn't seem to be holding up so well in my experiments, does he?"_ Ellis chuckled behind the camera. _"I bet you're really pissed now, aren't you, Worth? Does this make you angry? I hope it does. But you know, I'm willing to make a deal. I don't think this thing will last much longer so if you don't want him to, you know, _die_, we could make a trade. How does that sound? It'd be a fair trade, I think. Your toy for mine. This vampire... for Undesirable Number One."_

All eyes turned to Hanna.

The redhead was still sitting on the table, his entire body ridged, eyes wide as he stared in horror at the screen. When Ellis mentioned "Undesirable Number One", Hanna paled and his fingers gripped the edge of the table so hard his knuckles turned white. A shiver coursed through him, sending a shower of sparks shooting out of his bracers. He radiated fear.

Toni immediately spun back to face the screens. "Worth, we can't -"

"Quiet."

Worth was the only one to not turn to Hanna. His eyes were glued to the screen, those sharp shoulders silhouetted against the glow of the machine, jaw locked as he watched Conrad shudder on screen. He was still listening.

_"Sounds fair to me. So I was thinking, oooohhh, how about in the slums, near the gate of sector 23W? That's kind of neutral territory, it should work."_ The camera backed up, moving jerkily, _"Tomorrow, at oh-five thousand hours -."_

_"You mean fifteen hundred hours,"_ a woman's voice cut in flatly.

_"Shut _up_, Anya! That's what I said!"_ Ellis hissed angrily. _"Anyway, as I was saying... tomorrow, the gate at the edge of the slums, fifteen hundred hours. And bring Undesirable Number One... or I can't guarantee that you'll ever see your vampire friend alive again."_ Another dark chuckle and then the camera was jostled, _"Hey, how do you turn this thing off?"_ More tilting of the camera and then it dropped to show a pair of expensive dress shoes. _"Aw, come on, what the hell is this? Anya, how do you turn this off?"_

It was then that the video cut out, leaving the room in silence. The group stood there for a moment, seemingly absorbing the implications of the message. Finally, Toni spoke.

"Worth… we can't give him Hanna," She said, clenching fistfuls of her skirt.

The blond didn't reply, eyes still glued to the now blank screen.

"Worth," Toni said again, more forcefully this time.

"Shit..." Veser breathed, "Holy shit... what was that? Who was that? How did he know you? What the _hell_ is going on!"

"Good question!" the werewolf exclaimed, her energy building as she glared at Worth's back. "Care to explain Worth? You obviously know what's going on here and I for one would like to know."

At these words Worth did finally speak. "He's not anything important," he murmured, words nearly lost amongst the usual rhythm of beeps and whirs coming from the machines on the desk.

Toni's eyes narrowed, her teeth grinding together. "Bullshit, Worth. He obviously knew you."

The blond shook his head as he finally sat back down in his office chair, the motion more of a collapse. "He's jus' some whiny bitch I stole lunch money from. Name's Doctor Ellis, thinks of himself as my arch nemesis or what the fuck ever. Pathetic, really."

The werewolf scowled. "Well, pathetic or not, he's got Conrad. What are you planning to do? We can't just leave him."

"Worth," Hanna murmured softly, "I don't want to go back there." The young man finally raised his head, his eyes burning with a mixture of emotions. "But we have to save Connie. _I_ have to."

"Hanna…" The former agent began before trailing off. He wasn't sure what to say. Of course, they couldn't leave Conrad, but he couldn't stand the idea of the alternative. He wouldn't stand for it.

But of course, in that moment, it didn't matter, because Hanna's eyes were on Worth. The doctor in question sat in silence before the monitors, head bowed, and for a moment it seemed as if he hadn't even heard the redhead. However, he did eventually raise his head, his words coming out in a murmur. "I know. And we're gonna do that."

Toni's eyes narrowed as the former agent visibly tense. "Worth, I swear, if you suggest giving in to that _psycho_…"

This elicited a terrible sort of laugh from the doctor as he spun in his chair to face them. "Hell no! Honestly sweetcheeks, have some faith in me," he said as he looked to them, a grim smile on his face. "We ain't given 'em Hanna. No way in hell."

"Then how the hell are we gonna get Conrad out?" Veser asked, leaning on the table where Hanna was sitting. "I mean, he's locked in Vitra tower! Aw, dude, are we gonna _blow up the tower_!"

He received an eyeroll in response. "Fuck no, that'd be crazy. We're just gonna cheat at that bastard's game."

Toni's brow furrowed as she leaned forward. "I… can't say I'm following you."

The blond shook his head as he reached into his pocket, pulling out his cigarettes. "Dun' worry about it, you'll understand soon enough. You." Here he pointed his fresh cigarette at Hanna, eyes narrowing. "Yeah, you, eyes here asshole."

Hanna locked eyes with the doctor, shoulders tense, looking much smaller than he usually did. Apprehension, fear, and worry were written clearly across his face; he didn't know what to expect from Worth at this point.

Those dark eyes met his for a moment. "Look. You fucked up. Bad. But ya can't shut down on me now… you gotta fix this, you got me?" he said. His anger had largely melted away now, but there was a sternness to him now, his tone all business. "I've got a plan. And if you're gonna fix this, that means you do _exactly_ what I say tomorrow. No stupid hero stunts, none of that. You're gonna fix this and you're gonna do it _right_. You understand me, kid?"

Hanna took in a deep breath and nodded. "I got. And I'm going to fix it. I'll set it right, Worth, all of it. I swear." The determined look that had appeared on his face dissolved somewhat, "Because I… I want to tell Conrad I'm sorry."

He received a nod in response as the doctor lit his cigarette. "Good. You'll talk with Lamont 'bout that car when gets home after that, got it?" With those words he took a deep drag, then let out a smoke-filled sigh as he turned away in his chair. "That's all I've got. Get out of here, I don't wanna see your face right now."

Hanna expression crumbled into something like shocked hurt but he quickly composed himself and swept the look away to be replaced by that lost, empty on he'd been wearing earlier.

Without a word, he slipped off the table and walked slowly for the door, head down, bracers still spitting sparks, a raincloud. He hardly seemed like Hanna at all.

Toni reached out a hand toward him, only to stop herself. Veser, meanwhile, scoffed and flopped down onto a table, folding his arms before him and grumbling under his breath. It was the former agent who got to his feet and followed after the redhead, catching up with him in a few strides. An arm reached out to support Hanna and help him up the stairs without a word.

They reached the second floor, silence heavy between them, and were just heading for Hanna's bedroom when the redhead finally couldn't take it anymore. His thin legs folded underneath him and he collapsed against the ex-agent, not even bothering to try and catch himself as he went down.

His partner caught him with ease, remaining a solid support as he pulled the redhead close. "…It's okay," he murmured, allowing Hanna to simply collapse against his chest.

"No it's not…" Hanna moaned, fingers clenched on the man's coat as though afraid he might let him go, let him fall, abandon him and leave him, "If Conrad d-dies… it's my fault…" He pressed his face into the former agent's shirt. "All my fault…"

He received a sigh in response. "Conrad…" He trailed off for a moment, then shook his head. "Conrad won't die. Worth… Worth has a plan. We're going to save him, it'll be fine."

Hanna made a choked sort of noise, as though he was fighting back tears, "B-but I still messed up… Conrad got hurt because of me… what if he hates me?"

The former agent shook his head, grip tightening slightly on the back of Hanna's shirt. "He wouldn't. He was trying to save you, remember? No one here could ever hate you."

The redhead finally looked up at his partner. He looked older than usual, a darkness lurking in his brilliant blue eyes that seemed to say that he'd seen more than he ever let on. Hanna licked his lips, blinked a couple of times, and then forced a smile onto his face,

"Yeah. Okay. Come on, let's get some rest. We gotta save Connie tomorrow, after all."

The former agent nodded before rising and helping the redhead to his feet, trying to hide the concern he felt. Hanna seemed different somehow, and it honestly worried him. He pressed a hand to Hanna's back, providing silent support as he helped Hanna toward his room. It wasn't much, but it was all he had to offer right now.

He just hoped it would be enough.


	21. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

* * *

"Rise and shine, Snaggletooth~!"

The door hissed open and that blinding light flared to life. Conrad flinched but did not look up. He knew who it was; that bastard Ellis. How he hated that man, with every aching fiber of his being he hated him like he had never hated anyone before. In fact, he thought he'd almost be glad to see Worth when he got out this place.

_If_ he got out of this place.

"Guess what?" Ellis' voice said, drawing closer and closer until a shadow fell across the beaten vampire. "We're going to go on a road trip. You and a whole bunch of the Ahimsa get to go see all your little rebel friends. Won't that be fun? And I'll finally get my toy back."

Conrad said nothing and just let his head hang, eyes half-closed, wishing that the man would just go away and leave him alone.

There was the sound of boots clicking against the floor. "Sir," Anya's voice echoed into the room. "We're ready to leave. If you could just administer the sedative we'll be on our way."

"Oh, wait just a minute!" Ellis' quick footsteps and then the sound of one of the cabinets being opened. Conrad shivered and then groaned as he aggravated his injuries. There came the sounds of the doctor rummaging through the cabinet. "We still have time, I just want to try one more thing!"

There was the sound of a sigh and a tapping foot. "Dr. Ellis, _please_. Mr. VanSlyk and the rest of the escorts are waiting."

"They can wait a second longer. We've got plenty of time. Aha! I knew it was in here!" The cabinet doors banged shut and footsteps headed in Conrad's direction. "Look, I just want to see if silver applies to vampires like it does to werewolves, okay? Then we can knock him out or whatever and be on our way."

Conrad shuddered again, wary of whatever Ellis had planned, and another moan of pain escaped him.

"Oh, look, see?" the doctor said cheerily. "He wants to participate! It won't take long. Just a little cut and then we can leave."

Again there came another sigh. "Get on with it, then."

The only response from Ellis was an excited shuffle and then Conrad felt cold metal pressing against his arm. He jerked in his seat, trying to pull his arm away. "N-no! Stop! Don't do it!"

"Oh, please," Ellis huffed, removing the silver blade from the vampire. It still tingled painfully where the silver had touched. "What, did you want to get shot with a silver bullet instead? I think we still have some..."

Conrad gaped at him, eyes wide in horror. This man wasn't looking at him as an individual, as a conscious, living being. This man was looking at him like he was a germ under a microscope, like he was the rat in the maze, like he was a _toy_. And it made him sick. He shuddered and winced as his injuries twinged with pain.

"Well, I don't have all day. And besides, your friends are waiting." Ellis laid the knife across Conrad's arm again. "So let's get this over with." And he pressed down, drawing the blade across the vampire's pale skin as slowly as possible.

Conrad writhed and jerked, pulling at the cuffs still holding him to the chair, choked screams tearing at his already raw throat. He felt his own ice cold blood dribble from the deep slash, pooling underneath his arm on the steel chair, heard it drip over the side and hit the floor with a wet splash.

And it _burned_.

The silver on his arm burned like the Holy Water; icy hot and relentless. Conrad could almost feel it seeping into his bloodstream, poisoning him from the inside out, sickening and painful. But it hurt worst of all where Ellis was cutting him - hurt, hurt, hurt - and when the doctor finally pulled back, Conrad let out a strangled gasp of relief only to double up in the chair, stomach heaving with the silver in his system. But he'd had nothing to eat for hours and there was nothing in his stomach so he could only choke and cough, wheezing to get a breath, head spinning, injuries thudding with renewed agony.

"Oh, well, guess it does affect them." He heard Ellis step away, and didn't even care as long as the man _stayed_ away. "Uh-oh, I think I made him sick. Do you think he'll stay alive long enough for us to trade him? Oh, hey, I wonder if vampire blood has any special traits..."

"_Ellis_. Please," Anya's tone was clipped, impatient, mildly frustrated. "Just administer the serum so we can go."

"Fine, fine, all right..." Ellis grumbled, and there was a clatter as the knife was cast aside. Conrad opened his eyes just enough to see and watched as Ellis dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a syringe. Terror made Conrad shiver as he stared at the needle. He didn't care what was inside it -didn't want to know what that pitch black liquid inside would do to him -he just wanted that fucking syringe as far away from him as possible.

Ellis, of course, had no such plans. He approached the vampire, smiled that obnoxious, superior smile of his, and plunged the needle into Conrad's arm. The vampire shivered and then began to panic as an icy hand grabbed his mind. His vision blurred, faded to gray, and then black. He was still conscious, still completely aware of his surroundings, could still feel the burn of silver inside him, could still smell the thick fear in the room, could still hear the doctor and the Ahimsa captain.

But he couldn't see.

Conrad let out a wordless cry and thrashed in his bonds. It was utterly dark, and the word suddenly felt fifty times bigger than it had been, fifty times scarier, and he wished he had been knocked unconscious because that would have been better than being blinded.

He heard Ellis laugh, "Haha, that's always the funny part! When they freak because they realize they're blind. I like this stuff. We should try it on Undesirable Number One and see what happens."

Anya didn't reply, though her footsteps echoed through the room. There came a click, followed by a low hum as the cold steel around Conrad's wrists suddenly vanished. This was quickly replaced by a second, smaller pair of cuffs, recognized by the low buzz of energy. This task done, the vampire felt a hand on his shoulder. "Stand," Anya ordered.

Conrad bit his lip and shook his head. If he left the chair, something worse would happen. If he left the chair, the world would get even bigger and he couldn't see and he'd be completely lost. The chair was a grounding point, as horrifying as it was, but he knew where it was and if he left it, he'd be lost in the black.

The gloved hand on his shoulder tightened slightly. "That was not a request, vampire." Anya's voice was cold, but there was a hint of something to her tone, almost as if she was impatient to get out of the room.

Conrad clenched his jaw and then got to his feet. The combination of blindness and and injuries made the floor tilt beneath him and he stumbled sideways into the Ahimsa captain.

Anya held him steady, waiting patiently for him to gain his balance. Then came the light pressure of what was most likely a gun pressed between his shoulder blades. "Walk," she murmured.

What Conrad really wanted to do was scream, to just scream and try and run but that seemed so stupid, so pointless, because he really had nowhere to go. So he lifted one, weak and trembling foot and put it in front of him, and then the other, walking shakily towards God only knew what.

For all he knew, it could be his execution.

But as long as Hanna had made it out with the information, as long as Toni hadn't been caught, as long as the rest of his friends were alive, he figured he could handle this. Besides, the vampire tried to reassure himself, if everyone else kept fighting and stayed alive then he could deal with a little thing like death.

"Bye, bye, Lamepire!" He heard Ellis' voice from behind him, grating heavily on his already frayed nerves. "Thanks for all your help! Oh, and give your rebel friends my regards... when you see them in Hell."

The man's laughter was followed them out of the room, almost maniacal with glee, ringing forebodingly in Conrad's ears even after the door had closed.

* * *

Hanna stood alone in the middle of the road, staring up at the gate dividing the slums and the inner circle, arms dangling at his sides, sparks still sputtering out of his bracers every so often. He seemed very small standing there in front of the gate, surrounded by dying buildings and cracked pavement, and the fresh bandages around his injuries weren't really helping his image.

The redhead wanted to pace, to rock and forth on his heels, to fiddle, to move. But he was afraid to. Somehow he thought that if he moved from this spot, everything would just fall apart.

So he stood there, alone, in the middle of an empty, dead street, waiting.

God, he hated waiting.

Fortunately, he didn't have long to wait. There was a loud beep, followed by an awful, rusty shriek as the gate peeled upwards. It was clear just from this that this gate was in considerably worse condition in comparison to its inner city counterpart, but at least it worked. The ancient door, with it's many gaping teeth and peeling metal panels, almost like some sort of terrible dragon opening it's maw.

Once the beast had opened, a multitude of heavyset, armored hovercars came flying out of the opening. They floated with graceful precision into a perfect circle around the redhead, their smooth flight and near silent hum a stark contrast to the rumbling growl of the Worthmobile. Black, large and completely smooth, save for a few glowing lines running along their sides, it was hard not to feel a bit intimidated by them.

The last car paused right before Hanna before lowering to the aged concrete. With a final hum the front door flipped open, folding up onto the top of the car like a metal bird adjusting a wing. It was from this that a woman stepped out, her cold gaze and official-looking uniform making it simple to deduce that this was Anya Borokov.

This was the woman who had shot Veser, and it was hard for Hanna to keep his eyes on her face when he felt so impossibly aware of the gun at her belt.

"Mr. Cross," she greeted, her tone clipped and easily carrying over the sound of several other Ahimsa exiting their cars. "Or should I say Undesirable Number One?"

Hanna clenched his fists and said in a tense, dark tone, "Let Conrad go. I'm here so just let him go."

Anya quirked a brow at this, then shook her head. "Patience is a virtue, Mr. Cross. Is the area secure?" She murmured over the hum of a multitude of pistols being drawn and pointed from every angle, leveled solidly at the redhead.

Hanna snorted, "You mean, did I bring any friends along?" The smirk that had briefly showed on his face vanished and he glared at Anya, "Why do you care? This is just a trade. Me for Conrad. No one else needs to be involved."

The brunette gazed at him for a moment, then nodded. "Very well," she murmured before glancing behind her. There came a second hum as the back door of the car opened. There was a soft thudding noise, followed by a yelp as Conrad was unceremoniously shoved out of the car.

Hanna couldn't help the gasp of shock and anger at the sight of his friend. Yes, he'd seen the video and the state he vampire had been but seeing the damage in front of him, seeing Conrad like this just made it so much worse.

The vampire was in a set of handcuffs, identical to the ones that the former agent had worn what seemed like ages ago now, his glasses dirty and one lens cracked, and his clothes were stained and ripped. Conrad's black hair was matted, his face sunken, he almost had a skeletal appearance, there were burns on his exposed skin, puffy, swollen holes were needles had been inserted, and barely healed cuts, the nastiest of which was on his lower arm, still dribbling blood, the edges of it a bright and inflamed red.

"Conrad!" Hanna cried, unable to stop that painful edge that crept into his voice. "Oh God, Connie, what did they _do_ to you!"

"Hanna...!" The vampire jerked his head around to look as spot just to Hanna's left, "Hanna, is that... is that you! Wh-what're you doing here? Where are we!"

"What?" Hanna searched Conrad's face, confused. "Conrad, I'm right here! Conrad...?" The vampire's eyes were glazed, dull, not their usual black brilliance. Anger suddenly flared inside Hanna and a parade of sparks danced off of his bracers in response as he snarled at Anya, "What did you do to him! What the _hell_ did you do to him!"

"What did you expect, Mr. Cross?" Abner's tone was cold as he stepped out of the car behind Conrad, a gloved hand resting heavily on the vampire's shoulder. The broken asphalt crunched beneath his heavy boots, as if the landscape were reacting to his intimidating presence. "He is an Undesirable and is dangerous. He is fortunate to be alive… were it my decision, he would have been euthanized."

Anya gave a grim nod. "Orders are orders," she muttered. "Those in the Council's labs to have a different view in regards to Undesirable treatment. But I suppose you'd know all about that… wouldn't you, Undesirable Number One?" There was a slight arching of her brow as ice blue met bright cerulean.

"Bastards." Hanna growled, "This has nothing to do with Conrad. Let him go." His eyes narrowed in anger. "Now."

"As you wish," Anya murmured before nodding to one of the Ahimsa. "Take him."

The agent in question nodded before he reached for his belt and grabbed his handcuffs, then slowly began edging in Hanna's direction. The tension of the scene seemed to radiate from the man, his occasional glance in the captain's direction betraying his nerves. Finally, when the distance between Hanna and himself was only a few feet, he seemed to overcome himself. With a sneer he closed the distance and extended the handcuffs, eyes narrowed. "No funny business, brat," he growled out, clearly trying to sound threatening.

Hanna made a dissatisfied noise, glaring angrily at the Ahimsa before holding his wrists out silently. His arms trembled, fingers curled into fists, but he said nothing, blue eyes intense with the rage and hatred he seemed to be aiming at every single member of the government in the area.

There was a click as the handcuffs clasped around the redhead's wrists. With this motion the agent seemed more emboldened, as he smirked and tightened his hold on Hanna. "Well… that actually worked," the man commented, eyebrows raising as he and Hanna began walking toward Anya and Abner. "I'm surprised, I thought for sure you wouldn't come alone."

The redhead let out a harsh bark of laughter, "You really think so, huh?" A horrible snarl crept over Hanna's face, an angry, twisted expression that seemed so wrong on him. "You hurt my friend. You didn't just piss me off this time...you pissed everyone off!" And he kicked out with a booted foot, heel slamming into the Ahimsa agent's kneecap and shattering it with a sickening crunch as azure light flared around him.

At the same moment, a series of explosions ripped through the quiet air, rocketing shrapnel and dirt and fire up into the air, along with the majority of the armored cars hovering around Hanna. Metal and glass and clouds of dust cloud flew into the sky, the earth below sporting charred holes of black, smoke choked the air, and from somewhere, someone shouted a wild, wordless, charging cry.

There was a flash of blue as Toni leapt through the smoke, paws thudding across the earth. She cleared the debris of the cars with ease, speeding into midst of the coughing soldiers while most were still shielding their eyes or yelping in pain from shrapnel wedged in their limbs.

She was followed shortly by Veser who rocketed over the smoking wreckage on his hoverboard with another whooping war cry, brandishing his harpoon with one hand, terrifying teeth bared in an eager snarl as the green light spilling from his board vanished into sky, mingling with the flames.

Anya's reaction was quick. "Fire!" she called out even as she ducked to the ground, her weapon already in her hands.

The air was instantly charged with gunfire, glittering blasts lighting up patches of smoke as they arced through the air. This was punctuated by shouts of agony and animalistic snarls as Toni and Veser tore through the fray, blurs of teeth and flashing metal punctuated by the occasional burst of flame from the half-Selkie's bombs.

Meanwhile, Hanna had leapt over the Ahimsa screaming at his feet, ducked low to the ground, and set to racing across the battlefield through the smoke, flailing bodies, and ruined vehicles. His blue eyes were focused on one goal and one goal alone.

Getting Conrad out of there.

He skidded around the flaming remains of an armored car, paused for a moment as a thick wave of smoke rolled across his path, and then leapt forward, aided with a burst of energy from his bracers. He raced across the ruined pavement of the slums and dodged a shot from the vampire hunter who was guarding Conrad, cuffed hands reaching. His fingers closed on the front of Conrad's shirt and he yanked the vampire away from Abner with all of his strength. Conrad let out a cry of fear, his own cuffed wrists banging against the redhead's back as Hanna ran with him towards the cover of some heavily smoking wreckage, letting out little bursts of energy to keep his speed up.

Abner spun to try and stop them, leveling his gun for a perfect shot at Hanna's exposed back. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't the only one with decent aim.

The shot seemingly came out of nowhere, striking the hunter in the arm and forcing him to drop his gun as he let out a cry of pain. Dark lenses glinted as Abner turned his terrible gaze on one of the rooftops, but it was already empty, his attacker vanishing just as Hanna had.

Hanna, unaware how close he'd been to being shot again, ducked into the shadows of the buildings, bracers glowing in the gloom. Conrad was still struggling in his grip but Hanna ignored him, blue eyes searching for the familiar figure who was supposed to be waiting for them.

"Energetic as always, I see," the ex-agent's low voice rumbled as he emerged from the shadows, jogging to Hanna's side in an easy stride. He reached out and placed a hand on Conrad's shoulder, steadying him. "Conrad, relax, it's us. You're safe now."

"E-Eli...?" The vampire froze, eyes wide even as he stared sightlessly in the ex-agent's direction. "What's going on? What's happening?"

"We're rescuing you, Connie!" Hanna replied happily before he thrust his arms out towards Eli. "Hey Nefarious, can you take care of these handcuffs? I kind of need to go kick some ass."

His partner quirked a brow at the nickname, but raised his pistol. With a quick shot, the handcuffs burst off, clattering to the earth in a brief rain of metal and computer parts. "Be careful," he murmured, mahogany eyes meeting bright blue for a moment.

Hanna smiled, a genuine smile that lit up his eyes. "Don't worry about me. Just keep Conrad safe." The redhead turned his back on the former agent and the vampire, hands curling into fists, "I'll pay those bastards back ten-fold for what they've done." And then, in a burst of blue, he was gone, back into the fight.

The former agent watched him go for a moment before gently taking Conrad's arm. "Are you all right to walk? We need to move to a safer position."

"I...I can't see," the vampire murmured, shivering, so tense he was like stone, "D-Doctor Ellis, he... he put some stuff in me and now I can't _see_!" His voice peaked and cracked and he hunched his shoulders as though ashamed of his own fear.

"You're fine," the ex-agent said, his voice solid and reassuring, like grabbing onto a rock. "We used to use that drug on captured Undesirables, it's only temporary. You should regain your sight in a few hours. Just stay close to me until then and you'll be fine."

"C-can you get these handcuffs off?" The vampire asked hesitantly, eyes searching sightlessly for the friend who's hand still held to his arm.

The former agent made a hum of confirmation before he moved Conrad's arms in front of him. "Hold very still," he ordered before the shot went off. There was the clatter of metal, then a tugging motion as the agent lead Conrad away. "Come on. We need to get to a better position to help Hanna."

"Help him? H-how?" Conrad stumbled after him.

This got a grim smile from the former agent as he turned a corner. "Backup."

Hanna, meanwhile, had leapt back into the fray.

The dust and smoke that had clogged the battlefield were dissipating, despite Veser's avid use of explosives, and the Ahimsa were still holding their own against a half-Selkie and a werewolf. But adding Undesirable Number One to the mix was a different story.

Hanna was everywhere; he tore through the ranks of the Ahimsa, a deadly combination of magic, energy, and vengeance. He was a blur of madness, knocking enemies to the ground, crushing their guns, cat-calling, blasting down anyone who stood in his way. They had hurt Conrad - they had hurt his _friend_ - and they were going to pay.

The redhead was a lance of movement, striking where he saw an opening, dodging the gunfire, ignoring the shots that clipped his tiny frame, aiding Toni and Veser where he could. The half-Selkie was a madman, skidding through the melee on his hoverboard, slicing through the Ahimsa with his harpoon and flinging his bombs with deadly accuracy. Toni was just as fast as Hanna, a whirl of snarling teeth and slashing claws that mowed down their enemies with just as much force as the redhead. The trio made a surprisingly deadly force, taking down the Ahimsa's dwindling outfit with the strength of people who have more at stake then anyone could ever know. Wherever any of them left an opening, the ex-agent was there, his shots ringing through the air with deadly accuracy.

After several minutes of battle, it became increasingly clear that while the Ahimsa outnumbered the rebels, they were no match for their tenacity. Even Abner's precise shot was of little use in the chaos, his injured arm crippling him for the moment. Add this to the damage caused by the bombs, and it was no real surprise when Anya finally called out for retreat, her clear voice echoing over the chaos.

"Let them be!" she called out, her lower jaw working as she edged for one of the few still working cars. Her eyes spoke of an obvious agitation, but it was clear she knew when to cut her losses.

Dark lenses sought out ice blue. "Captain, are you certain?"

The woman gave a curt nod. "Orders are orders. If the target has reinforcements, we are to retreat."

The hunter gazed at her for a moment, then finally gave a nod. Though his mask and goggles hid his face, it was clear from the tense set of his shoulders that he wasn't happy with the idea. However, he did as he was told and made for the armored car with the others.

Hanna skidded to a halt at the edge of one of the craters, watching with brilliant eyes as the cars shuddered into the air, some of them smoking slightly and several lights cracked.

A grin split his face and he danced on the spot, "Suck it, yeah! We won!" The redhead pumped his fist into the air, Veser's whooping cry of victory adding to Hanna's shouts, "that's right, run back to the Council with your tails between your legs! Go on! Get out of here! Hahahahahaha!"

Toni came to a stop at the redhead's side, limping slightly but otherwise seemingly fine. Blood coated her blue muzzle as she glanced around, furred chest rising and falling with heavy, warm breaths. "I wouldn't be so sure," she muttered. "Doesn't this seem a bit too easy to you?"

Hanna looked around at her, raising an eyebrow, "No. We've always been more awesome than the Ahimsa. Right Veser?"

"Hell yeah, we have!" the half-Selkie cackled, kicking his hoverboard off and slinging it over his shoulder with a grin that showed all his dagger sharp teeth.

There came a weak, terrible cough from the ground. "You really think so, don't you, halfbreed?"

Veser's large eyes narrowed and he glared at the Ahimsa agent bleeding across the cracked pavement, raising his harpoon in a threatening manner, "You wanna call me halfbreed again, you government bastard?"

"Veser, stop," The werewolf growled out, great furred form moving between him and the agent. Her glowing white eyes went to the agent, narrowing. "What do you mean?"

At these words the agent let out another weak chuckle. The man was a mess, blood blooming across his formerly white shirt, teeth knocked out, his legs like mangled wires. However, a proper squint at this pale face revealed him to be the same agent who had placed the handcuffs on Hanna and now had the fortunate privilege of dying with broken kneecaps and a punctured lung. "Y-you really thought you were special, didn't you, Undesirable Number One?" He blubbered, crimson spittle staining his chin as he spoke. "Thought this was all about you?"

"What do you mean?" Hanna stepped up beside Toni, blue eyes locked on the man dying before them. "Is it Conrad? What did you do to him! Answer me!"

The agent gave a snort and shook his head. "That vampire doesn't mean anything, you really should know better." Pained, dark eyes sought out Hanna's, so similar in color to the redhead's partner that it was almost eerie. However, it was ruined by that awful grin and the words spoken next.

"You weren't the only one we wanted."

"Who did you take!" Hanna shouted, crouching down and grabbing the front of the agent's shirt, "Tell me! What did you do! _Tell me_!"

He never got his reply, as the agent let out a final, shuddering chuckle before falling silent. His eyes dimmed and glossed over as he slumped in Hanna's grasp, head lolling to the side.

The trio stood in silence before the dead agent, seemingly at loss for words. Finally, Toni spoke, a sense of horrified realization in her tone. "Hanna… have you heard from Worth over your communicator at all?"

Hanna froze for a moment and then his fingers slipped from the dead man's shirt and he pressed his bloodied fingers to his communicator: "Worth? Worth, are you there? Worth! Worth answer me!" The redhead spun around, looking up at Toni with a desperate expression on his face. "Toni, I can't get him! He's not answering! He's not answering!"

"Maybe he's just in the bathroom," Veser threw in, but there was an edge to his voice that didn't make his words believable.

"Toni!" Hanna cried, "I can't get Worth!" He fiddled with his communicator again. "Worth! Worth, answer me! WORTH!"

He never got an answer.

* * *

This was stupid.

Worth was well aware of that. This was stupid, plain and simple, and that was something he'd sworn to avoid when this whole mess had started. After all, it had all begun from his mistake, and one giantass, life-changing mistake was more than enough for him, thanks.

Thus far, he really felt he'd done a decent job of avoiding such things. Sure, Hanna had his whole ridiculous rebellion thing, but it had been interesting enough that Worth had been willing to jump on board. After all, knowing Hanna, he'd need someone to run things behind the scenes and keep it from being a bit too ridiculous, so Worth was happy to oblige. It gave him something to do and people to boss around, and well, fuck, that was all he really needed besides his cigs and booze, right?

So he'd kept the ship running for years now, arranged all of Hanna's little close calls and ordered their little band of misfits around and that had all been fine. It was dangerous as hell, sure, but if Worth was smart about things, he figured he could keep things going long enough. Besides, it was interesting.

Of course he'd known it couldn't last forever. They all did. It was inevitable that the Council would find them eventually, inevitable that one of them would be captured. Circle of life in Varuna, really. You were born, you lived your little life, then the Council swallowed you whole. Typical.

But Worth'd be damned if he wasn't gonna go down kicking and screaming.

So while he knew the whole operation to save Conrad had been stupid, he'd taken it anyway. It was possible that it was all a trap, that there would be far too many Ahimsa and their whole group would be overrun. It was possible that that captain and her little vampire hunter pet would take Hanna and years of running would be for nothing. It was all very possible and there were too many variables for the doctor to even consider, and had it been for anything else he would have said no. In fact, a part of him still insisted he should be saying no.

But he was sitting there in the tech corner anyway, headset on and eyes glued the monitor, smoke filling up the room like a security blanket. He lounged in that chair and he stared at the single black and white image of Hanna pacing at the appointed meeting place and he tries to ignore that voice- so much louder than usual, that says he may have just sent that kid to his death today. He tried to ignore it and focus on the task, because he didn't have a choice.

After all, as much as he tried to fight for something else, he was well aware their little group runs on heroic stupidity.

It was while he musing on this that his phone rang, breaking his concentration. The doctor blinked, then cursed as he snapped up the aged, battered phone from his desk and flipped it open. He'd recognize that ringtone anywhere and he had a bone to pick.

"So what fatass, _now's_ the time you decide to pick up?" The doctor had barked into the phone without formalities. "I'm kinda fuckin' busy with the Goddamn _crisis_ I was calling you about earlier, so unless you're fucking _dying_ you-"

_"Hi Worth!"_ Lamont's voice came over the phone, almost overly cheery. _"How are yyyyooooouuuu~?"_

"Uh, considering Fagula's been fucking _kidnapped_ and we're in the process of rushing to the tallest room in the highest tower t' save his ass, not so fucking great," Worth had growled out.

_"Yeah, yeah, that's fantastic. So listen, aheh, um, the cheese is in the microwave. Just thought you should, heh, know that."_ Lamont let out a nervous laugh.

There was a beat of silence. "…Are you drunk?"

He received a flustered sputter from the other end of the phone, _"The cheese is in the microwave and - oh, shit - the basement's flooded with potatoes!"_

"…Right."

_"So, the thing is, aheh, you need to come help me with boxes."_ Lamont's voice dropped a little bit, taking on an uncharacteristically dark edge, _"You _really_ need to come over and help me because, you know, that's what you do all the time, you being all such a nice guy and all. 'K, Worth?"_

Lamont had hung up without reply and the blond was left sitting there in the dark, illuminated solely by the flickering screens as he gazed down at the cell phone in his hands and practically felt the wheels turn.

He knew what that ridiculous babble had meant, and it wasn't good. At the beginning of this entire mess, back in the days when it had just been him, Hanna and Lamont, he and the dealer had made a pact. They'd seen enough action movies to be well aware that if either of them were captured or in trouble, they were on their own. Neither were the selfless hero types and it was more pragmatic, so that had been that. They'd been drunk at the time of making their little code words, but well, whatever worked, right?

The code had certainly worked, and that meant his best friend was in trouble and there was no Hanna here to save the day.

So the blond is left sitting there in the dark, eyes glued to the screen with Hanna all by himself and those flickering rolls of information as the words of Toni and Veser ring in his ears and he hears some confirmation about the bombs. All he can think is how he should have been more suspicious about Lamont not answering his phone, but, fuck, Worth had just figured he'd been busy, and, oh, he knows a rat when he sees one and damn, is that ever annoying.

Because, rather suddenly, he knows that the trap is not for Hanna, but he's going to be playing anyway.

That was how he found himself crouched behind one of the usual warehouses a good ten minutes away from the factory, grumbling to himself because, Goddamnit, this was Hanna's job. But still, here he was, back pressed against too-warm concrete, dark eyes occasionally flicking to the dark clouds above and well, shit, he hoped if it rained it wouldn't be acidic because he really liked this coat. There was Lamont in the loading bay, bound, grimacing at the gun pressed between his shoulder and surrounded by more guards than Worth would have liked. And well, that was just what was in sight, given that there were far too many angles thanks to the ancient semis and rotting crates placed haphazardly around the loading area.

This wasn't his job. But hey, with all the time he'd spent fixing everyone else's mess, Worth figured he was allowed at least one painfully stupid act of his own.

And so, with that in mind, he sent a scalpel flying through air, nailing the guard holding Lamont with a level of precision that would have made a paid surgeon jealous. He may not have been out in the field as much as the others, but he could handle his knives well enough, thanks.

The reaction was immediate. There was a general shout from the guards and the area was filled with gunfire, flashes of light raining down from corners that had seemed deceptively empty minutes ago. The occasional agents dropping like flies from knives or small darts only seemed to frighten the veritable battalion remaining, as they couldn't _see_ the scalpel-tossing monster in their midst.

The monster in question finally appeared in a blur of white from behind the small group holding Lamont, a flash of steel the only warning before a knife was jammed into the throat of the latest poor bastard holding the dealer. "'Lo, Cuntface," Worth's greeting was almost cheery as he grabbed Lamont and jerked him backwards from the guards surrounding them.

The dealer stumbled and then caught himself, shooting Worth a glare, "What the hell, Worth! I thought we had a deal! What're you doing here!"

Worth rolled his eyes as he jammed the blood-coated knife into another guard, sending him tumbling to the ground. "Saving your ass, the fuck does it look like!" He snapped as he swung the knife, sending a crimson arc through the air as the guard in question crumpled. "Ya could be a bit more grateful, y'know."

"You idiot!" Lamont shouted. "Don't you know what this is! Don't you realize why I told you to _stay away_!"

He received a smirk in response as Worth spun to face him, grabbing his arm for a moment so he could pick at the handcuffs on his wrists. "You really expected me t' listen? Come on Monty, you know better than that," he breathed out as with a jerk of a scalpel and a few taps on some buttons the handcuffs popped loose, dropping to the concrete with a loud _clang_.

Lamont flexed his wrists, scowling, "Okay, okay, thanks for saving me, now get the hell out of here!" He swung a punch and knocked a guard to the ground. "Hanna's gonna pitch a fit if he finds out what's going on!"

His friend gave a low laugh as he jammed his scalpel blade into the palm of the poor sucker going for his neck. "Don't he always? After you, guido."

With those words, the two were running, dodging a hail of gunfire and weaving through a maze rusted truck beds and rotting boards. Even injured, Lamont could certainly hold his own, and with Worth's seemingly endless array of knives they seemed to be doing well enough.

The doctor couldn't help thinking it was a bit too easy, and he was right.

It was when they reached the exit that their luck finally ran out. There was a strange gunshot, a crack like thunder, and then, quite suddenly, something heavy slammed into Worth's back. The shot was akin to being hit with a live wire, and the effect was the same, sending a bolt of electricity throughout the doctor's body. The force of it sent him tumbling to the concrete with a shout of pain, long body thrashing as numbness arced up and down his spine.

"Shit!" Lamont skidded on the spot, turning around to grab his fallen friend.

"The fuck are you doin', you idiot? _Go_!" Worth barked over the sound of thudding boots.

"No way!" The dealer shouted back, grabbing Worth's wrist and attempting to haul him up, "There's no way I'm dealing with Hanna bawling his eyes out 'cause you got kidnapped!"

The blond grimaced as another shock shot through his body. "It'll be worse if it's both of us, moron. 'Sides, it's me they want." Dark eyes sought out Lamont's for a moment, and the blond forced a grin.

"Gotta fix my own mess somehow, right?"

Lamont stared at him for a moment, hesitating, and then let out a groan and let Worth go, let his friend fall back to the pavement. He took a step back, stopped again, and then turned and ran, vanishing into the looming stakes of crates and abandoned vehicles.

He didn't look back.

Even when he heard the guards yelling, heard Worth's curses, knew what was awaiting him once he got back to the factory, he did not stop. Because Worth was right; both of them getting caught would only make things worse, and if Worth wanted to play then fine, let him play.

But he had better come back alive.


	22. Interlude Worth

_Written by Digi because she writes the most amazing Worth. XD_

**

* * *

Interlude - Worth**

* * *

In a way, Doctor Luce Worth had always known what they had been doing was wrong. The catch was just that he didn't give a flying fuck at the time.

He was well aware that his position had really come down to luck. That was all Varuna had ever been about, really. If you were born an undesirable, well, that sucked to be you. If you were in the middle class, you'd survive. If you were in the inner circle you'd been born a king, so you may as well enjoy it the best you could.

That was the attitude he had taken very early on about the whole thing. His family had been one of the wealthiest of the inner circle, and as much as he loathed the rules that came with high society, it didn't really matter. Sure, he hated crap like his mother's constant fussing over the way he dressed and the ramblings of how his trouble making was sure to cause a scandal, but he was well aware they had the sort of money to keep people quiet as long as it was the right sort of scandal and had nothing to do with Undesirables. High society was a minor irritation at best and well, fuck it, it was better than dealing with the Ahimsa on the streets.

His sister, in stark comparison to his apathetic take on their little world, found his indifference disgusting. They'd had argument after argument about how wrong it all was and how unfair it was that they lived the way they did while undesirables were in poverty and well sweetcheeks, it may be wrong but you'd be in a lovely cell in Vitra tower were it not for the cash in the Ahimsa's wallets to keep them lookin' the wrong way whenever you hoist those picket signs. By the time he'd dropped this line, Lou Worth would be huffing and puffing before stomping off, well aware that she wasn't nearly strong enough to take down his steel-enforced house of cards.

That was the way it was best described, when it came down to it. Life up through high school was a ridiculous house of cards that shook and wavered with each underaged drink he took and kid he pushed around. He wasn't blind, he was well aware that the other idiots at his school were just that, idiots, and he didn't feel up to playing the high society game of who knew who. He just wanted to get by, thank you very much, so he felt he couldn't be blamed for doing everything in his power to shove it all away. None of those fake friends, no teacher suck-ups, no bullshit for him. Just grudging teacher's recommendations from professors who were irritated to find he was smarter than them, fist fights that he won more often than not and the occasional dealer who was all too easy to scam and sell out if things got too boring.

Things got boring a lot, really. Luce would shake and kick at that house of cards every chance he got, but close calls were all too easy to circumvent and in the end he was finding he was too good at the game even when he wasn't playing. As the eldest son of a rich family he had the world in his lap without even really trying, and he was finding it quite dull.

So when he'd declared he was following the standard procedure of most inner circle douchebags and was applying for university and a doctorate and all that, well, his mother had been thrilled. There had been ramblings about how she'd been oh-so-worried he would end up being an Undesirable-Friendly like his sister and oh Luce I always knew you were better than that and they'd be so respected in the city and your father would be so proud if he weren't essentially forever locked away in that prison they called a job. Her son put up with it with a grimace because no, it had nothing to do with some perceived duty to the city. He didn't owe Varuna shit.

It had been about power. After all, if you were in the inner circle you had to watch yourself more than anyone, and if you _were_ the inner circle it didn't matter. The higher up scientists were as free as the Ahimsa core, and that was worth the small price of trying a bit. He was tired of skipping around the game, he wanted to be the one making the rules.

Unfortunately, med school had been equally boring and easy. He coasted through years of work without trying, once again skirted the game and ignored those fake friends unless one of them was particularly hot, and even then one good fuck was really all the vapid bitches were good for. He supposed he wasn't surprised that attending med school was really more for the title and status than anything else, but it still made graduating seem more like a consolation prize than a real achievement. He knew he wasn't even that particularly smart, it was simply a lovely by-product of society that had taught most of his colleagues how to avoid thinking. It wasn't like he particularly gave a shit about things like education and there was a bit of pleasure in knowing his placement ground quite a few people the wrong way, but he'd been hoping for something better.

He finally found that something better when he'd landed his first job in Vitra tower. Ironically, it hadn't been in the job itself, which was of course little more than shoving around paperwork. No, the interesting thing came in the form of some idiot guard in the cafeteria.

The fact that Luce even ate in the cafeteria was surprising in itself. Most of the scientists and doctors, interns or no, stayed in the labs or went out. After all, they had an image to uphold, and dining in the cafeteria with all the low level grunts would most certainly not help that. Luce, of course, really did not give a fuck, and seeing how he seemed to thrive on giving the finger to Varuna's little rules it really shouldn't have been a surprise. So he ate by himself and no one so much as spoke to him, save for the whispers that he silenced with a glare.

It had been Lamont who finally ruined that. Luce had just been sitting there, essentially minding his own business when this dumbass guard had dropped one of those disgusting fake apples around him. The fat bastard had gone for it, of course, only to stop when Luce had cheerily put his foot down on the morsel and demanded to know why the guy was even bothering.

"It's okay t' go for the cake, really. It's clear the Atkins diet ain't doin' shit for you, tubby."

There had been one or two exchanges of this, with Luce blatantly insulting the guy's face while that damned guard beamed politely but _would not let it go_. It was a breech in etiquette by itself, as the blond could easily have the guard fired in a second, so it was really no wonder this had resulted in the entire damn room going quiet. The tension built and built until finally Luce had gotten bored with the whole thing and kicked the guy in the face, figuring the conversation was over. He'd been quickly proved wrong when a calloused hand flew up to sock him in the jaw.

Well now, _that_ was more like it.

The resulting fist fight ended with more bruises than Luce could count on both sides, probation from the cafeteria for both of them and a lifelong friendship whether the damn guard liked it or not. Because well, fuck, that had been the first damned _honest_ response to anything that Luce had seen in years and he wasn't going to give that up anytime soon.

The guy's name was Lamont Toucey, and he sure as hell _looked_ the part of a no name Vitra tower guard if one didn't look too closely. Short and thick, Lamont blended in with all the other black shirts well enough, but there was something about that slicked back hair and a glint to his beady eyes that made him seem too smart for that smile to be entirely trustworthy. Maybe it was that vague shady nature that made the whole damn thing click so well, maybe it was just that _fuck you_ if Luce wanted something, he got it, but either way it only took a few days of grumbling on the guard's part before he just accepted that he was stuck with a lab coat clad beanpole.

So the two began spending time together, a practice that was essentially unheard of even though it wasn't expressly forbidden. Most guards were middle circle bums who got off lucky for having muscle, and it was pretty clear that Lamont was there more due to good connections than anything else. Inner circle douchebags did not hang out with middle circle monkeys, but here they were, spending their days smoking outside during lunch and getting into fist fights. In retrospect he was aware this had been a downright stupid act, but at the time it had been interesting and at least it had been something.

They were young, reckless, and so, so stupid, because at twenty-something everyone thinks they're immortal and ol' mother Varuna never was any good at reminding him otherwise.

They were young and stupid, but for awhile their whole shtick went off without a hitch. It didn't take long for Luce to figure out that yeah, his friend was most definitely not there for legal reasons, and that just made things more interesting. The whole black market business was certainly not unheard of- even if it was only in whispers -and when Luce had worked it out he'd been glad to help. It wasn't about the money, although it wasn't a surprise just how much this shit went for, it was more because he'd needed something to do. Again, reckless and stupid, but at least it had been interesting.

And he needed interesting, considering what the rest of his life was like. The inner circle was little more than a mound of paperwork, a hive of constant buzzing with drones forever competing to get out of the slop. Luce was trapped in it, chipping at paperwork that he didn't give a damn about and winning even when he didn't care to play. It wasn't like he particularly gave a shit about Varuna and his job, he just wanted to get to actually _do_ something.

For the longest time, however, that never happened, so that meant Worth had to find other avenues for entertainment. It was times like these when he was almost glad for the ever aggravating presence of Doctor Godwin Ellis.

Almost. Not quite.

For as long as Worth could remember, Ellis had been there, though he couldn't exactly remember when the whole mess had started. All he knew was one day in grade school the curly-haired asswipe had been at his side, beaming cheerily through two missing front teeth and greeting him with some sort of useless techno babble about how they were in class together and Luce had stolen his lunch money twice now and Ellis' mom had always told him to turn the other cheek so well Luce would you like to be my friend?

It had been so adorable Luce had socked the kid on the spot. No, Luce did not need anyone, thanks, especially not some little nerd named fucking _Godwin_. Seriously, what had the kid's mom been thinking? Weirdly enough, the kid kept coming back, all bushy brown hair and pale and forever just a tiny bit shorter than Luce and subtly spiteful about it. From grade school all the way to his job Ellis was there, first trying to get into Luce's good graces and then little by little simply competing, as if reaching for some sort of approval, even if it came in the form of a grudging admission of victory. So it went this way for years, Luce winning without any particular effort and Ellis nipping at his heels, and oh it was all too easy but that was all they had.

So the game went on for years, all smug smiles and easy steps and _Christ_ Ellis get a life, I'm not hanging out with you even if you pay me. It went on and oh it was impossibly boring, but Luce supposed it pushed him enough to actually give a half-added shot at things and that was probably what really started it all.

He'd been working in the labs for a year when the Council had called him up by name, told him his work had been exceptional. They were just bullshitting him since all he'd really done was paperwork and Luce knew it, but he let it go because this was what he had wanted. It was a chance to finally do something, and if you were on the Council's list you owned the world. Sure, he'd still be largely working with Ellis but fuck, he'd take it. Extra pay and power for the sake of someone else's soul wasn't exactly a big deal in Varuna.

They called it The Firefly Project, and oh, it was finally _something_. The concept behind it didn't entirely surprise him, it didn't take a genius to know that the whole registration system for Undesirables wasn't working. The slums were a barely controlled, volatile paranormal bomb, and it didn't surprise Luce that the Council was getting fed up. The project just finally gave them the ability to do something about it.

Fighting magic with guns wasn't entirely successful, so they would fight magic with magic.

Luce never did figure out where they got the thing. It was only three inches in diameter, this glittering crystal so bright that holding it was like grasping at a star. They got it somewhere beyond the walls, he'd figured, and oh the theories ranged from boring to hilariously folksy. "It's a material that reacts to Undesirable activity, channels their power, their emotions, their fears into something tangible" was the general diagnosis, but he'd heard whispers in corners that made him laugh outright. No, folks, it is not a fucking falling star, it's not some ancient artifact from the Temple of Doom, did you seriously make it through school with that kind of supernatural bullshit? He really didn't care where it came from or what it was, all that really mattered was there was enough magical power in the damn thing the level Varuna in an instant and the Council wanted to know how to control it.

He hadn't been around for the first tests, and for that Luce was glad. He'd heard more than enough stories of the poor saps who'd bumped the thing on accident and been fried in a moment, heard of the thousands that had already been poured into property damage. No, he'd been called in when it was finally discovered that the best way to channel this energy was through a living, breathing thing with magical properties.

Well, it wasn't really human experimentation if the things they used weren't human, right? Captured Undesirables and citizens who had just been unlucky enough to have a brush with magic were a dime a dozen, so Luce had more than enough of a selection to work with. In retrospect it had seemed cruel, but well, that was how Varuna worked. You were born in the right place and you learned to make it work for you, that was how you survived.

So he'd started working.

It took three subjects before they worked out how to rewire the nervous system so the magic would even flow, and after that it was all up to lady luck. The magic, as it turned out, was quite specific over what it would and would not tolerate, and those it did tolerate, it was only a thirty percent chance the power would even take. Those that the magic didn't take hold of, it consumed, destroying them from the inside in a grisly process of melting skin and bone. It was a messy thing, an awful thing, and the time with the little girl had been hell… if there was anything that very nearly shook things, it was probably that, but he had no intention of losing. Not when he was so damn close to finally being free.

Of the many, there were a few that worked. Werewolves, several vampires, a kelpie, a dullahan, a mermaid, men and women who had been unlucky enough to have a brush with magic and have their bodies survive even if they hadn't. Each reacted differently to the mass of power forced into their systems, the power flowing through them and pulsating like a living thing, changing color like some sort of personal aura. The magic shaped and changed them, froze them in time, made them perfect in ways they couldn't have been before. It spread between them and made them into mindless, single-minded powercells. These were the ones they gave numbers, the titles, these were the Fireflies. These were the twelve steps to creating Varuna's reaper and they were a sight to behold.

The only problem, ironically, was the magic inside them. There were twelve that worked, each releasing power with varying degrees of success, but none were to the level that the Council wanted and all were still quite conscious. The Council did not want warriors, the Council wanted a fucking _bomb_, and the problem therein was that the magic was still too volatile for that. The creatures were _too_ powerful, their abilities barely held back through sedatives and rune-coated safe rooms. Even with these things the magic would explode outward periodically, discharging in explosions of something too great and terrible to name. Varuna's science had created them, but it couldn't contain them, and that was a problem.

Luce would find a way to fix that. He'd never thought himself a witchdoctor or anything of the sort, but he knew of the city's tendencies to avoid thinking outside the box. Besides, after working at this damn project for three years, he had no intension of giving up because of something as stupid as this. So he came up with the chip, something to regulate all that power, something to override the mind and craft these warriors into what the Council needed. He worked late nights and he bought goods even the damn labs didn't have and oh he was walking a fine line and Lamont warned him after he disappeared for weeks on end but Luce didn't give a shit.

Sell a soul or two for freedom, that was all it took here. Small price to pay, right?

It was during these little tests of his own that they came across Hanna Falk Cross. The kid had been an absolute mess when he'd been brought in awhile back, small fifteen-year old body all but torn to shreds and four years of tests and preservation already leaving Luce wondering if the kid was as alive as the Council claimed. That didn't matter, however, because when it came down to it, the kid was exactly what they needed. Luce had never believed in things like fate before, but if he did, he'd say Hanna was it. With a bloodstream that synced with magic far too well, Hanna was perfect. The instant their team had gotten a hold of him, Ellis had excitedly declared that this was _it_, and Luce had to agree.

Hanna was born to be the Council's weapon. If they didn't get this right now, they were never gonna get it right, and Luce was well aware of the price of failure. He would either succeed and live as free as one could be in this shithole they called civilized society, or he would fail, and Luce _did not fail_.

With that in mind he redoubled his efforts, and he supposed that was when it all really changed. He started working late, far too late and good God was he really devoting all this energy to something as stupid as this? Often it was just him and those flickering holoscreens in the darkness of the labs, bent over those readouts as beady eyes went from them to their eight-month pet project on the table and back to those numbers.

He probably should have known this was a bad idea. Luce had never put that much effort or care into anything before, well aware that the moment you got caught up in Varuna's game, that was the moment you lost. Still, the power had proved too compelling to ignore, and it was that night that he'd realized what a mistake it had all been.

The night had started off like any other. Same old numbers, same readouts, same flickering screens, same hours spent pouring over books and grumbling and fuck maybe 'Mont was right and he was trying too hard. Maybe he was right and well _Goddamn_ was staying ahead really worth that much?

And then rather suddenly small, stick-thin fingers had flashed upward, catching Luce's wrist in a deathgrip.

The blond had let out a cry of surprise, eyes widening, because _fuck_, the thing was awake! The thing was awake and damn it all he'd _known_ those sedatives hadn't been enough and now he was going to die a statistic and shit, if he was going out this was not how he'd wanted it and God-fucking-damnit-

And then dark eyes met brilliant blue and suddenly Luce's mind went blank.

He'd never actually caught sight of the kid when he was awake before now. The team had always made a point of keeping the thing heavily sedated, and when he _was_ conscious enough he was so under the influence of the drugs that those eyes were never looking at anything real. Tonight, however, those eyes were wide and blue and the clearest damn thing Luce had ever seen, and rather suddenly he couldn't think of anything.

"...Why? Why are you doing this?"

He would have expected those words to be broken, a shattered plea that fell on deaf ears like the rest of them had. But these words were strangely strong, backed up by the power in those thin limbs and something alive in those damn eyes. They were powerful and alive and something so much better than human, and somehow faced with that all Luce could reply with was a numb, lost "I don't _know_."

The moment passed after that and Hanna collapsed as abruptly as he'd regained consciousness, leaving Luce alone with a racing heartbeat and his thoughts. He didn't get anything else done that night and had left the labs in a hurry, mind racing as those words rang in his mind.

If he'd been anyone else, that probably would have been enough to make him stop. The encounter with Hanna did result in a few slow days, the doctor wrestling in his mind with questions of morality that ordinarily meant nothing to him. What gave him the right? Really, what gave any of them the right to do what they did, aside from where they were born? It was wrong, really, when it came down to it _all of fucking Varuna_ was wrong. However, when it came down to it, Luce was still a pragmatist and in that city, things like morals and the like meant nothing.

Your position in Varuna came down to luck and a lust for power. He had no intention of giving up either when he was this damn close to being as free as one could get in this damn city.

Ironically, it was Ellis who finally changed everything. Really, Luce should have seen it coming. A moment's hesitation in Varuna was all it took for the pecking order to change, and Luce had given more than that thanks to those damn blue eyes. Still, in the midst of his little moral dilemma he hadn't noticed, and by the time he'd realized his files were missing and there was a meeting it had been too late.

He'd pulled Ellis aside before the whole thing, slammed the bastard against the wall and snarled into his face with vehemence. That had only been more frustrating when the brunet had flashed this fucking _superior_ smile, as if he were better when they both fucking _knew_ he wasn't, and then those words had tumbled from his lips, cheery reminders that slowing down in Varuna was not an option. This had nearly scored him a punch in the face, but those next words stopped him.

Have you seen Touchey lately, Worth? Oh Luce, you never cared about your job, when did that become so important that you never even noticed that the Ahimsa finally caught up to your little friend and his family and all his little connections. Funny what sort of things can come out of the woodwork when you're trying to get dirt on someone.

Those words had made the blond's grip go weak, dark eyes widening as he met an expression that all but said "_checkmate_". Ellis was smiling and for the first time Luce found he was at loss for words, could only stare numbly as his rival cheerily pointed out that all the evidence hadn't been given up yet, but Lamont's stay was going to be getting considerably more unpleasant if Luce felt like bringing up his own dirt. Fair enough, right Worth? No point in snitching on each other, that's just so _grade school_, and oh there may have been some sort of vague threat against Luce's family but he'd been lost a lot earlier in the conversation.

Suffice to say, Ellis had gotten to go to the meeting. Luce was left behind to watch his house of cards finally crumble like the nothing it had always been.

The bastard had stolen his idea. Ellis stole every bit of research, spun each number and presented each readout with that shit-eating grin, boasting of nights in the lab he hadn't spent to a room of fascinated onlookers. He had beamed as he fiddled with directional buttons he didn't know how to work and rather suddenly the Council finally had their control chip, something to regulate the energy in the Fireflies and make them _weapons_. Luce was stuck fuming at the back, grinding his teeth together and fighting the urge to just snap then and there.

He wanted to snap, but a part of him was just a bit too rational for that. Because yeah, he wanted to bash Ellis' face in, but in a way he'd always known this was coming. He and Lamont- no, really it had always just been Luce who had always been so Goddamn reckless, forever seeking out some way to make things interesting, some way to get out of it all. He'd fallen into the same damn trap as the rest of the city, he should not have been surprised when it all came crashing down. He'd always known Varuna was a snake forever consuming its own tail in this twisted, ridiculous cycle, and he supposed it made sense that it would eventually be his turn.

Except, you know, _fuck that_.

Luce had known it was coming, but damnit, he was not going down. Not like this. Ellis had proven himself and the blond would give him that, but Luce had no intention of sitting back and watching his own destruction. He wasn't _that_ much of a masochist, thanks.

So he left. He stayed up late in the labs again because oh, _Head Doctor Godwin Ellis_ said he needed someone to fine tune things and Ellis you are a fucking moron but Luce would take the opportunity. He collected the remaining files and trashed the ones Ellis had taken that he could access, left his fancy little condo in a wreck because that shit would just slow him down. He'd done it all and he'd been about to leave when he'd noticed the redhead on the table.

Well. If he was gonna do this, he may as well do it _right_. Besides, there was nothing more fantastically ironic than destroying Ellis with his own toy.

He arrived at Lamont's cell an hour later, practically _whistling_ as he made his way down the hallway because _Goddamn_ this had been too easy and he was admittedly gonna miss the way those guards stuttered the instant Luce wanted something. He'd made his way down the hallway and keyed in a number code and the door had slid open and well, fuck. There had been Lamont, beaten and bruised and barely moving, but he'd still raised his head and there'd been that flash of hope and confusion in those eyes and _Goddamnit_ 'Mont stop that, you're gonna change your tune once you realize just _who_ got you here.

"'Ey Mont. Time to go."

"What?" Lamont's tone had been lost and confused as he'd stood, swaying slightly on his feet but solid enough and that was good. "Luce, what're you-"

"Here," The blond had cut him off with a grunt as he unceremoniously tossed what had to be the lightest biological weapon in existence into the dealer's arms. "I saved your ass, so _you_ get t' carry the bags. Now hurry t' fuck up, my clearance ain't gonna last forever and we have t' get to the tunnels before Ellis notices that thing's missing."

His friend had let out a sputtering noise as he caught the kid, as if he wasn't sure which question to start with. His eyes flicked from Luce to the redhead and back again before he finally let out a baffled "And what _is_… he?"

This had made the doctor laugh as he turned and made his way for the door, took that first step toward what he damn well knew was the world crumbling around him and found he didn't give a fuck. Sure he had lost everything and oh Lamont was gonna _hate_ him and he still owed Ellis an ass-kicking, but when it came down to it his house of cards hadn't been worth much anyway. He still had something, after all, and that was enough for now.

"Just something interesting. Now let's go."


	23. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen

* * *

**

"Paging Doctor Worth. Paging Doctor Worth. Doctor Worth, please report to reality."

The doctor in question let out a groan, eyes squeezing shut. He recognized that voice, and, between hearing that voice and being unconscious, he'd gladly take unconscious.

"Hey, Worth, pay attention!" the owner of the voice snapped, "I am _talking_ to you!"

Worth let out a grunt and finally cracked open one eye, squinting against the harsh glare of the blinding lights above him. After a moment a pale face swam into focus, along with a shock of curly brown hair and a clip-on tie that was just as aggravating as the grin stretched across the man's face.

"Ugh," the doctor groaned as he squeezed his eyes shut again. "Christ, your ugly mug is _not_ the first thing I wanna see in t' morning. D'ya mind?"

"Nice to see you, too," Ellis grinned. "Oh, and you're far uglier than me, just so you know."

Worth blinked at him for a moment, then let out a sigh. "Right, well. You're clearly still delusional and a fucking moron, so… 'm goin' back t' sleep. Wake me the Council's got someone actually fucking _important_ t' talk to me." With those words he slumped forward again, somehow managing to lounge in his seat even with clamps around his wrists and ankles.

"Y-you... you bitch! I _am_ important!" Ellis pulled back a fist and slammed it into the doctor's face with as much strength as he could muster.

The doctor jerked in his chair, the sound of the blow ringing through the dark room. Worth then turned back to face him, blinking blearily for a moment before grinning. "That's it, really? What, did you and Connie get into a catfight when he was visitin'? 'Cause if that's all you've got, I'm thinking you _lost_, Shirley." This was the key, Worth knew that. He felt considerably smaller than usual without his coat and his body was still throbbing from the electricity that had brought him down, that was true. Also, the idea of being bound in a room with this fucker didn't sit well with him - but he'd had more than enough verbal spars with Ellis to know just what buttons to press. Just being down didn't make him out.

Ellis stared at him for a second and then let out a flustered sputtering noise before composing himself, hiding his frustration behind that superior smirk of his, "Oh yeah? Well, your little Lamepire was the most pathetic of your toys yet. Seriously, he was screaming like a little girl the whole time."

His prisoner gazed up at him for a moment, as if he were trying to process this. After a moment, however, the blond merely shrugged. The mental images Ellis' words evoked were more than enough to make Worth want to tear the man apart - after all, Conrad may have been a pathetic excuse for a vampire, but Conrad was _Worth's_ pathetic excuse for a vampire and he didn't want Ellis' greedy little paws anywhere near one of his own. However, the blond was also well aware that those words were only meant to get a rise from him, and Worth had no intention of doing that.

Fortunately, if there was anything he'd perfected over the years, it was his poker face.

"What d'ya want me t' say? 'Congrats, you made a five-year old girl cry'? I ain't gonna pat you on the back for something you do on a regular basis, dumbass. For all I know he was just screaming from looking at your ugly face." Worth flashed a lazy, half-lidded smirk at this. "Come on, Mandark, let's cut t' the foreplay and get on with it. Why don't you go ahead and tell me what ya brought me here for?"

Ellis frowned at Worth's jibe, but the frown quickly became a grin. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his lab coat. "It's kind of amazing, Worth, don't you think? I know something you don't. Ha! I know something you don't know! I know something you don't know!"

He received an eye roll at this. "Yeah yeah, good job. That'd be, what, the first time in your life? Your mum must be so proud."

"You're just scared, Worth," Ellis hissed. "Scared, because for the first time you have no clue what this is about. You can keep up that tough guy act as long as you want, but we both know it's because you're completely lost without all your little toys to manipulate." The man smiled and shook his head like he was speaking to a stupid child. "Oh Worth, you think you're so smart, but you're not really. If you were, well, I guess you wouldn't be here, would you? Alone, clueless - did I mention alone?"

The doctor shifted slightly in his bonds, cocking his head to the side as if he were considering these words. Finally, he gave a snort. "You're underestimatin' me. Big mistake. But I guess that's always been your problem, you never could work out just where little bitches like you belonged on the food chain." Those dark eyes met Ellis', unflinching and completely at ease. "News flash, Egghead. A little asswipe like you can't scare me, so let's just get the fuck on with it. I'm gettin' bored here."

A disgusted scowl swept over Ellis' face. "I just remembered why I hate you. But that doesn't matter." The smile came back, but it was different; darker, enjoying what was happening far too much. "See, because even though you got your friend to run away, he didn't get very far. Not very far at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure we captured him. Oh, but, wait, you're thinking that Mr. Toucey can handle himself, right? Well I'm sorry to burst your bubble but I got my toy back." This time his grin showed all his teeth. "Remember, the one you stole from me? Yeah, that one. I got it back. Isn't that great?"

This actually did get a reaction from Worth, though it came only in the subtle tensing of long limbs, as if his breath had caught in his throat. After a moment, however, he relaxed, meeting Ellis' smug grin with a smirk of his own. "Bullshit. You couldn't tell a lie if your life depended on it, moron. You don't have them, stop insulting my intelligence here."

Of course, this was a lie. For all the doctor knew, Ellis was telling the truth and Hanna and Lamont were most definitely locked up somewhere. Fortunately, Worth had two constants to rely on. The first was the rule that, no matter what, Ellis had never been better at lying than he was. If Worth pushed him, the man's pride would force him to fold. The second was that Hanna and Lamont absolutely couldn't be captured. Absolutely not. Hanna was too strong and Lamont was far too smart.

He had to hold on to that.

"Fine, believe your silly little lies if they make you feel better," Ellis tossed his hand in a dismissive way,."So anyway, I just have this really important question I think you should answer; just how _did_ you disable Subject Thirteen's chip?"

The doctor ground his teeth together for a moment, then let out a breath. All right, fine, he wouldn't get his proof yet. That was fine. If Ellis didn't have anymore to say on the subject of Hanna, he'd have to take that as proof enough for the moment. After all, there were more important things to consider. So he forced that lazy smirk back into place, raising an eyebrow as he glanced up at the other doctor. "Hm? What's wrong Ellis, can't figure out how your own technology works? I guess you wouldn't, seeing how you fuckin' _stole it_. Really a shame cheating never worked out for you."

"I took advantage of something you never had the balls to do!" Ellis snapped, stomping a foot on the floor. "Tell me how you did it or I'll _make_ you tell me!"

His prisoner's eyebrows flew upward at this. "You'll make me?" He repeated before bursting into laughter. "Oh man, I'm _real_ fuckin' scared now! Big bad nerd Ellis is gonna make me talk!" The blond shook his head as he managed to subdue his laughter, though that confident, twisted grin still stretched across his face. "Please, you couldn't squish a fly."

"Try me," Ellis growled. "Just try me, you turn-coat bastard...!" And he drew back his arm again, letting fly another punch that caught Worth in the side of the face. "You know withholding information from the government is a crime, right? And that I can do whatever I want to you in here? _No one_ is going to come in here unless I say they can." He punched Worth again. "So it's really in your best interest to tell me what you did!"

The blond let out a breath as he moved to face Ellis again, blood now trickling from a split lip. His tongue shot out to lick at the blood for a moment, then he grinned. "That's it, really? Come on, 'Mont hits harder on a daily basis."

Ellis glared at him, his eyes narrowed into angry little slits. "I don't need to hit you, Worth. I have more ways - better ways - for getting under your skin." He turned on his heel, marched across the room, and flipped open a tool box sitting on a nearby table. After a bit of rummaging, he held up a silver stick that crackled with electricity. "How about? Do you still want to play this game, Worth?" Ellis advanced on the blonde man, the silver stick raised, "Just tell me what I want to hear and I won't have to hurt you... that much."

He received an arced brow in response. "Well, that depends on what you want t' hear, I guess. I mean, I could tell you _all_ about the rip-roarin' good time I had with your mum last week, but that's probably not it."

"You leave my mother out of this!" Ellis shouted, brandishing the electric stick, "This isn't about -God, what is wrong with you! This is about what _you_ did!" He leaned in and waved the stick in front of Worth's face. "This is about what you stole and what you did to it. You tell me how you disabled Subject Thirteen's chip or I'll jab you one with this! And you _really_ don't want that."

Worth just met his gaze evenly, that horrible grin still in place. Even with the sparks right in his face, he didn't so much as flinch. "Now now, Ellis, don't get so upset. I'd bring up the _other_ women in your life iffin' ya had any." Was this stupid? Oh, most definitely. But if he was stuck here, he may as well have fun.

"Enough about my social life!" Ellis snarled, "Tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen! Tell me now or I'll... I'll stab you with this!" And he pointed the electric stick at Worth, eyes blazing angrily as he glared at the man.

The blond's grin only widened in response. "Now now, Ellis, come on. If you're gonna make threats, t' key is _followin' through_. Are we gonna go or not?"

Ellis stared at him for a long moment, that stick still clenched in his hands; one could almost see the thought process behind his eyes. Then the man's jaw clenched and he jabbed the silver stick forward, shoving it into Worth's chest, releasing the wave of electricity that had been stored in its tip.

"Augh!" His prisoner let out a shout, back arcing, limbs tensing in their bonds, fingers twisting and twitching like spiders legs. He rocked back in his chair, teeth grinding together as for a good ten seconds the shock went on. Then it was over and the blond was slumping in his bonds, breathing as shaky as his shuddering frame. After a few tense moments of breathing the blond let out a laugh, raising his head again and grinning. "That all you've got? You already did the electric shock thing when I was fucking captured. C'mon Ellis, let's see some creativity."

Ellis made a collection of flustered, angry noises and flailed around for a moment before stomping back up to Worth and slamming the tip of the stick into the doctor again.

"You're not supposed to be having fun!" Ellis snarled, jamming the stick in painfully between Worth's ribs, "You're supposed to tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen! And I'll do worse - much worse - if you don't! You thought the damage to your vampire toy was bad? It'll be nothing compared to what I'll do to you!"

Worth gave another pained jerk, but this time he seemed more prepared, as all he did was grit his teeth and curl inward slightly. When the shock had passed, he let out a snort. "I never _saw_ what happened t' Connie, bastard, I was a bit busy helping Lamont. Even if I knew, can't say I'm too scared." He raised his head to meet Ellis' eyes again, his grin speaking of superiority, pride and sheer defiance. "So come on, hit me with your best shot. If you can."

"Don't _tempt_ me!" Ellis spoke through clenched teeth, yanking the stick away and tossing back onto the table as he dug into the box again, "I'd love to kill you for all the hell you've put me through, but I _need you alive_." The man held up another metallic rod, black this time, advancing on Worth with narrowed eyes. "Still, that doesn't mean I can't hurt you."

He raised the metal rod high and then swung it down, smashing it into the side of Worth's face. Again and again, he struck the doctor, not even bothering to aim, just swinging and taking satisfaction in the sickening _thwack_ of metal hitting flesh. Through the whole thing, Worth was silent save for a few grunts and Ellis cursed him, snarling breathlessly. And when he finally stopped, Ellis was panting and out of breath, chest heaving, his fingers clenched so tightly around the metallic rod that his knuckles were white.

Worth was similarly silent for the moment, his long body slumped in the chair. Blood slid from his face and pooled in the dip between his collarbone and neck, soaked into his wrinkled gray shirt and dripped onto the bare concrete floor. His breath came out in hot puffs from a shattered nose, each inflation of his lungs sending spikes of pain from bruised and possibly broken ribs. After roughly twenty seconds of silence, in which the doctor had assessed his injuries, he straightened up, vertebrae clicking together as he turned and spat blood onto the concrete.

"Y'know, for a no-holds-barred beat down, that was pretty weak," Worth drawled, a grin stretching across his face in spite of the bruises that were forming. "I've had worse from 'Mont. The effort was decent though." He shrugged, wincing slightly at the pain the motion caused.

Ellis' eyes blazed in anger and he raised the metal rod again. Then he froze, gaze lingering on the blood that was seeping from Worth's injuries, and lowered his arm, letting the weapon fall to the floor with a clatter.

"Aw crap..." He raised his hands to his face and ran his hands through his messy brown hair. "Aaahhhh, you bastard. You know just how to push my buttons, don't you? And I hate you. I hate you for that." Ellis dropped his arms to his side, that obnoxious, superior smile back on his face. "Oh you... you sneaky little... mmm..." The man seemed drained, exhausted after his angry vent, but he still shook a finger in Worth's direction, laughing in a breathless sort of way.

Worth just grinned back through bloodied teeth. Because yeah, in a way he'd won, but of course this wasn't over. Not yet.

"Stop it!" Ellis snapped, "Stop smiling! Stop it! I hate it when you do that, when you smile like you've won. Well, you _haven't_!" The scientist backed up towards the tool box again, keeping his glare on Worth while reaching a hand sightlessly into the box. "You haven't because you're sitting there in a bloody mess and I have my toy and your friend! _I_ won! _I_ did!" And he pulled his hand from the box, a knife clenched in his hand. "So wipe that stupid smile off your face, you bitch."

At these words the blond blinked, then gave a snort. "Seriously? You dun know how t' use that. Put it down before you hurt yourself."

"Oh really?" The brown-haired man with the knife raised an eyebrow and tossed the knife from one hand to the other. "I am a scientist and a doctor, despite what your drug-addled brain would like to think. So yes, I do know how to use this."

Ellis approached Worth, raising the knife up so it caught the light with a deadly wink, and then swung it down, plunging it into the doctor's hand. There was a stomach-twisting sound and blood splattered the floor and up the blade.

This finally drew a cry of pain from Worth, his entire body going rigid. His eyes squeezed shut and he ground his teeth together, his uninjured hand clenching in a way the injured one could not. Booted feet kicked out on reflex, he could feel his stomach clenching with the motion as he fought back another scream. He'd been stabbed once or twice before, certainly, but it didn't change the fact that it still hurt like a motherfucker. The blond sucked in a few agonized breaths through his nose before his eyes opened again, wide and dark as they met Ellis'. For once, he didn't seem to have any words.

"Oh, you're making noise now, are you?" Ellis smirked. "So maybe I can get you to talk. Let's see..." He crouched down, not even bothering to pull the knife from Worth's hand, and grabbed one of the doctor's fingers. "Hmmm, now I'm sure there's a certain way to do this but I've never asked how so I figure we'll just wing it." He turned his gaze on Worth and there was a raging madness glittering in his eyes, "So, Worthy, tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen's chip."

His prisoner stared back at him with wild, glittering eyes, then took a deep breath. He wanted to jerk his hand away, but he was already hindered, and Jesus _fuck_ that knife hurt. He knew Ellis was serious, and there were so many things he wanted to say, but he still needed a moment to compose himself. Finally, though, he found the words. "I'm not telling you shit. If you're gonna sit around and whine like some kid who stole his project for the fuckin' science fair…" Here the blond paused to take another breath, then gave a small laugh. "Well, fuck off."

"Have it your way." Ellis said mildly and bent Worth's finger backwards with a quick jerk.

There was a terrible, audible _snap_, like the breaking of a twig. Worth let out a howl of pain, bucking violently in the chair. He then slumped in his bonds, eyes squeezing shut, disgusting teeth gritting together as he fought to hold back several smaller, more muffled groans.

"Well, come on," Ellis remained hunkered down in his heels, staring up at Worth, "tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen's chip or I'll break another one. I figured if I took away your hands, you'd cease to be important to those rebels anymore. See," Ellis pushed against the finger he'd just broken, enticing a noise of agony from the doctor in the chair, "That one was the one you used to patch up Thirteen, though I don't know why you bother to fix it. And this one," he grabbed Worth's ring finger, "is the one you would have used to sew up the gaping hole in that mongrel Selkie brat. So tell me what you did or I'll snap it."

Worth let out a shuddering breath, slumping in his bonds as his nostrils flared. "Fuck off," he finally ground out.

"Fine," Ellis said flatly, and snapped Worth's finger back, blinking once as the resounding crack echoed through the room.

This time Worth was more prepared for the feel of it, but the sensation of bone splintering against skin and muscle was still excruciating. The cry remained in his throat this time, however, choked back but not entirely silenced. The blond's nostrils flared as he slammed his back against his seat, the light above him burning red through eyelids that had been squeezed shut.

"Tell me what I want to know," Ellis growled, "or I'll snap this one next." And he grabbed Worth's middle finger. "Tell me, or I'll keep breaking all of them until you have nothing left and you'll be useless to those precious rebels of yours. Tell me! Tell me now!"

The blond leaned back, simply breathing for a moment and listening to his heart thud in his ears. The chair suddenly felt impossibly cold, the lights impossibly white and hot, as if he were hyper aware of everything around him. He let out a grunt, as if he were trying to find words, then finally shook his head.

"God, you're a stubborn bitch," Ellis said. "What are you trying to protect? Subject Thirteen? Are you trying to protect it? You already failed at that, Worth, because we have it. So what did you do? Because I'm going to keep doing this until you tell me how you messed with Thirteen's chip." There was another crack as the man broke Worth's finger with quick jerk.

Worth let out a low, awful grunt, thrashing back against the chair again. He then slumped forward, going completely limp in his bonds, head lolling against his bloodied chest. After a few moments there came the laughter, quiet at first, in a chuckle, before building and building into hysterical cackling.

"Why're you laughing!" Ellis glared at him. "Stop that! Stop laughing! Why the hell are you laughing!"

Apparently Ellis' speaking was hilarious, as this only made Worth laugh harder. After another twenty seconds of this he finally managed to compose himself, flopping back in his chair as a bloodied grin spread across his face. "Fuckin' hell… sorry, Ellis. But I just can't take this seriously. Maybe you should be leavin' this to the professionals."

Ellis just stared at him with wide eyes and then let out a flustered snarl, leaping to his feet and facing Worth with his fists clenched at his sides. "This is between you and me, Luce. Just you and me. Our game, no one else's. So tell me everything! Tell me!" He lifted his foot of the ground and slammed the heel of his expensive shoe into Worth's broken fingers. "Tell me! Tell me! _Tell me_!"

The blond grimaced, teeth grinding together and eyes squeezing shut as agony shot up the splinters in his fingers, jarred at the blade still pressing into his flesh. After this had passed, however, he let out a sigh that almost sounded amused, eyes remaining shut as if he were merely relaxed. "You just don't fuckin' get it, do you? Yeah, sure, it's our game… but iffin that's the case, you never stood a chance. You should have known that."

"Wait, hold on, you don't...you don't _seriously_ think you're still winning do you?" Ellis snorted, shaking his head, "You're unbelievable. You're all by yourself, you're alone. We have your best friend, we have that toy you stole, and we know what all your stupid rebel friends are doing. You. Are. Alone." The doctor let out a barking laugh. "You've lost, Worth! Deny it all you want but you've _lost_."

Worth gave a snort at this, a smirk playing across his battered face. "Bullshit. Ya see, Ellis, the problem with you is you never did know how t' pick your battles," the blond declared as he shook his head and gave another laugh. "Don't you get it? You can't win. You couldn't when we were kids, you can't now. You've had one or two decent ass moves, I'll admit that, but flukes happen."

The doctor let out a grunt as he adjusted himself in his seat, ignoring the agonizing throb of his hand. "You say I'm alone, but Christ, I already knew that. Since when's somethin' like that ever mattered to me? I don't need my personal Justice League t' beat you, and well, shit, I can fix whatever the hell you do to me." He gave a shrug before continuing. "As for you claiming you have Hanna and 'Mont, I already know you're lying. If you had Hanna, you'd be parading him around like a Goddamn trophy wife, so shut the hell up already."

"Shut up! You know _nothing_!" Ellis shouted, "My toy is back where it belongs, undergoing tests to make sure there's nothing else you've done to it! And you're going to stay here, and you're going to suffer, until you tell me how to fix everything you've ruined!"

These words only made Worth laugh again. "Make me suffer? Seriously?" He shook his head again as his grin widened. "I'm a _masochist_, you dumb fuck. Do you really think _this_ is gonna break me?" Here he suddenly tensed his hand, forcing it as closed as he could manage in the circumstances. There was a sickening _squelch_ as muscles tensed farther around the blade in his palm, matched only by the horror of the grin playing across the blond's face. "It won't. Anythin' you can possibly do, odds are I've done it before. Sure, it'll hurt like fuck, but well, that's part of the game, ain't it?" Here he finally opened his eyes to meet Ellis' frustrated glare, his eyes glittering with pain, defiance, and most terrifying of all - amusement.

"I am stronger than you. I am fucking _better_ than you, Ellis, and you know it. You have always known it. Go ahead and fight all you want, I'm not going to talk. Just let me know when you give up, 'cause I wanna pay real close attention when you get stuck draggin' your ass to the Council and let them know all that money and freedom they gave you has been wasted on the second best."

Ellis' eyes widened and his mouth hung open slightly, as though shocked that the broken and beaten man before him could actually still speak, let alone laugh and move those shattered fingers to only cause himself more pain.

"You're insane," Ellis finally gasped. "You're out of your bloody mind." He finally composed himself, shook his head, and let that superior grin slide over his face again, "It's okay, though, you'll see the light eventually. Until then -" The scientist drew back a fist and punched Worth in the face again. "That's for good measure. I'll see you around, you traitor son-of-a-bitch. For now you can sit there and think about what you've done. I'll see you tomorrow."

And then he turned and headed for the door, humming to himself. He stopped just in front of the door and looked back over his shoulder, "Oh, and because of your actions today... you can be sure that your friend and Subject Thirteen will be spending a very uncomfortable night in the labs. Think about _that_, Worth." Ellis laughed horribly as he left the room, the door hissing shut and locking with an audible clunk.

Worth watched him go, managing to hold his position until the doors had closed. The instant he was alone he collapsed in his seat, energy spent for the moment. The doctor flopped back against the cold steel of his seat and simply breathed for the moment. Every inch of his body throbbed, and the knife was still stuck in his hand, but in a way, that was a victory in itself. Because yeah, he was a mess, but Ellis was clearly shaken, and that was good enough for Worth for now. Admittedly, the threats against Hanna and Lamont were mildly concerning. But he hadn't been bluffing about the point that Ellis surely would have shown Hanna off had he been there, and if there was anything Worth wasn't going to underestimate in this situation, it was Ellis' arrogance.

And so the doctor lay there under the obscenely bright lights, listening to nothing but the sound of his own breathing, and he began to laugh, a satisfied grin splayed across his face. Because fuck, this was a mess.

He just hoped the others had enough sense to stay out.

* * *

Watching everything unfold had been almost tragic.

Hanna had dragged everyone back to the factory in a panic, spewing desperate ideas that Worth had just gotten locked in the bathroom and it had happened before so that was possible, or maybe all the technology had suddenly shorted out because that had happened before too, or maybe he was just being his usual jackass self and not responding just to yank their chains.

But the factory had been empty, the basement was devoid of the hazy smoke and cursing that usually awaited them on their return from a mission, and Hanna had been crushed. They had saved Conrad, true, but returning to an empty house with no idea where Worth could have gone was disheartening.

Hanna had torn the factory apart, searching for the doctor, then for Lamont, calling their names. He'd even tried contacting them through communicators and through the network but he gotten no response. And whatever energy he'd had left after the fight had left, leaving him drained and small looking. Now he was sitting forlornly in one of Worth's office chairs, head hanging, not speaking, the glow on his bracers dimmed in his lethargy to a pathetic flicker. In Hanna's dull blue eyes, everything seemed to be falling apart.

His partner stood against a nearby wall, arms folded, brow furrowed in obvious concern as he simply watched Hanna. He'd tried to get Hanna to move, asked him if he'd wanted anything, but after several minutes of getting little to no response he'd finally backed off.

Toni, meanwhile, was currently attending to Conrad, standing before one of the operating tables and dabbing at swollen cuts with a pained expression. "This might hurt a bit," She'd muttered as she pressed a soft hand against the vampire's arm in warning, an alcohol-soaked cotton ball held over the wound made with silver.

Conrad hissed between his clenched teeth and jerked his head to the side, "I don't care, as long as it cleans out that silver; that stuff stings like hellfire." His dark eyes flickered to meet Toni's emerald ones. "But at least I can see again. Um, th-thank you for... thank you for saving me."

A shadow of a grin spread across the werewolf's face for a brief moment. "You're welcome. But it was all of us, really. I'm not as fast as Hanna is, and without Eli's shooting I'm pretty sure we would have tanked," she said as she dabbed at the cut, brow furrowing. "I hope I'm doing this right, normally Worth deals with things like this…"

"You're doing fine, Sweetcheeks," Veser said, though it lacked his usual boisterous and cocky edge. He tore open a bandage and placed it over a cut on his arm. "You've got the hands of an angel."

If Toni was going to respond, she never got the chance because there was a clatter from the stairs and suddenly Lamont stumbled into the basement, covered in bruises and several still-bleeding cuts. He leaned against the door frame, looked around the room at everyone, and then dropped his head, eyes closing as he let out a weary groan.

"Lamont!" Toni's eyes widened and she paused to set down the things she'd been using to patch up Conrad before rushing to the dealer's side. "Oh my God, are you okay!"

"What happened to you?" The former agent inquired, brow furrowing as he stood up straight. "Where's Worth?"

"It... I..." The dealer pushed himself off the wall, breathing heavily, and allowed Toni to help him over to a table next to Conrad. "It was stupid... my fault... I should have known better than to follow a shady lead but, hey," he let out a weak chuckle, "that's kinda my job."

"Lamont..." Hanna's small and quiet voice came from the shadowy corner of the room, "What happened to Worth...?"

Lamont's dark eyes locked with Hanna's blue ones for a moment before he looked away, "Sorry Hanna. He... I walked right into it; it was a trap and I fell for it." He shook his head. "And that fucking idiot played the hero. He knew what was going on and he came anyway."

Toni's eyes widened slightly. She paused in her grabbing for a bandage, those wide green eyes going to meet Lamont's dark ones. "You can't be serious," she murmured, expression disbelieving.

The former agent had gone stone still at his place near the wall. "So they captured you when you were out on a job, and then while we were saving Conrad…" He let the the words hang in the air, his mouth clamping shut as if it had hurt to say them.

"They got Worth." Lamont winced and his gaze flitted across the room to look at Hanna before dropping again. "It's what they wanted all along. I... I'm sorry."

A beat of silence and then, "No..." The single word from Hanna's mouth seemed to shatter the redhead completely. He slumped down in his chair, a mere shadow of the eccentric bundle of energy he usually was, and put his face in his hands.

Upon seeing this, the former agent winced. "Hanna…" he muttered before making his way over to the redhead. He reached out to touch his partner's shoulder without hesitation, a sort of physical, silent manifestation of what seemed to be one of the few remaining rocks in Hanna's crumbling world. This was nothing compared to everything else facing them down, but it was all he had to give for the moment and in a way that knowledge that this was all he had for Hanna made the crushing sensation in his chest all the worse.

Conrad watched them for a long, painful moment and then looked back at Lamont. "B-but how? I mean, he's _Worth_! How the hell could they capture Worth?"

"He didn't go without a fight, if that's what you're asking..." Lamont muttered, "But you get enough people and you can take anyone down."

Toni bit her lip as she pulled some supplies out of the first aid kit and pushed them Lamont's way, flashing him a questioning look before going back to Conrad. "But why would they go after Worth? He's _Worth_. He hasn't even been on missions or anything like that. I know he's just as wanted as the rest of us, but…"

"Because of what he knows," Lamont answered, dampening a cotton swab with some anesthetic and dabbing at his cuts with it. "He's smart and he knows a lot and they want him back."

"Wait, back? What do you mean "back"?" Conrad asked and then flinched when Toni tightened a bandaged around one of his cuts.

"He..." Lamont paused, licked his lips nervously, and then continued. "He used to work for the Council..."

"What!" Toni sputtered, pulling Conrad's bandage just a bit _too_ tightly. Her hair was a swirl of black and blue as she craned her neck to gape at Lamont. "But… but he's _Worth_!"

"What, you thought he always lived out here in the slums? Always fighting the government?" There was an uneasy edge to Lamont's voice, almost a panicked anger. "Back then, he was just like the rest of them. He worked for the Council, he lived a happy little life in the inner circle, and he... he..." The dealer drew in a deep breath, as though realizing what he was about to say, and then spoke in a lower, calmer tone, "He worked on the Firefly Project."

"No _shit_," Veser said loudly.

There was a heavy silence in the lab for a moment. It was as if everyone was afraid to speak, as if they left the words untouched, they would somehow cease to mean anything. Gazes went from Lamont to the floor and back, save for mahogany eyes that desperately sought out bright blue in an attempt to make sense of it all.

Hanna remained slouched in his chair, face hidden from the world. But when Lamont mentioned the Project, he tensed, his whole body seizing up into a knot of almost visible nerves. The lines on his bracers brightened for a brief moment and then dimmed again but he refused to look at anyone.

"Aheh, you're... joking right?" Conrad said half-heartedly after a long moment of nothing. "Right? Because he had me go in and steal that info and everything and..." The vampire trailed off, suddenly remembering the way Worth had talked about the offices, about the man named Ellis, about everything. "Oh God, you _are_ telling the truth! Then... then how do we know he wasn't _still_ working for them!"

"He wouldn't." Hanna said flatly, voice still muffled by his hands. "He hates them, he wouldn't."

Toni bit her lip, shifting uncomfortably as her gaze stayed on the concrete. "Well," she muttered as she tucked a strand of bright blue behind her ear. "To be fair, him holding back this information doesn't exactly speak in his favor."

"But that doesn't explain why things went the way they did," the former agent spoke up, looking to the rest of the group. "If he was working for them, why create some sort of elaborate scheme to switch from Conrad being captured to himself? It doesn't make any sense."

"I told you, it's because of what he knows," Lamont responded, now tying off his cuts with bandages, pointedly not looking at anyone.

"That's no answer," Veser grumbled, leaning against a table with a scowl. "Even if he did work for them, what good is a stinking old man gonna do them?"

"It's not my place to say," Lamont said in a low voice.

Toni let out a growl of frustration. "It's not right for him to have kept this from us. Come on, Lamont, you can't just -"

The dealer's dark eyes locked on her, hard, cold, lacking the usual laughter and shadiness that lingered in them. The look he gave her told her - not asked her - to drop it because it was a territory she should not step into.

Again came silence after the dealer's words, this one heavy and oppressive. The group was left sitting there and in that instant, standing at Hanna's side, the former agent began to realize just how earth-shaking the whole situation was. For all of its terrifying lighting and shenanigans that went on down there, the lab and its main inhabitant had been one of the few constants the group had been able to rely on over the years. Regardless of what happened and regardless of how the missions went, even the former agent found he had started to trust the idea that Worth would always be there. He would always be in the lab, forever in a state of minor irritation and fixing up Hanna after his latest stupid stunt and cursing Veser for being equally reckless. He would have awful nicknames for Toni and he'd be cheery about the abuse he'd been dishing out for Conrad for hours now and every time Lamont came around there would probably be a fist fight and there had always been something strangely comforting in the constancy of that.

Except now there was no comforting, hazy blanket of smoke, there was no cursing and shouting and long, disgusting fingers pointing them in the direction they should go. It was gone and the group seemed lost.

"Fuck this whiny shit," Veser suddenly ground out, slapping a hand down on the tabletop with a loud smack. "You're all faggots!" The half-Selkie pointed at Lamont. "Greasy faggot!" Then at Toni: "Furry faggot!" Conrad: "Yuppie faggot!" The former agent: "Long, tall, and ugly faggot!" And finally at Hanna: "Whiny, gayass, faggot with a hero complex!"

Everyone except Hanna turned to stare at him.

"What?" Veser's face was a mixture of disgruntled anger and something like a hurt he was trying so hard to hide. "You're whining about the old guy not being here so I'm just trying to lighten the mood!" He folded his arms and leaned on the table again, scowling, "Worth woulda done it..."

Toni did nearly crack a smile at this, shaking her head as she turned to press a final bandage on Conrad's wounds. "Good point. All right, we've got our dose of swearing… the question is, what do we do now?"

"We rescue him." Hanna's voice was still flat, still muffled by his hands, but there was a hard edge of determination to it.

"How?" the former agent asked, brow furrowing.

"He has a point, Hanna," Toni said as she closed up the first aid kit and wandered across the room to put it away. "He's going to be in Vitra Tower. Going in there didn't exactly go well last time." Her gaze flitted to Conrad, apologetic and somewhat pained at the memory.

"_Should_ we even rescue him?" the vampire threw in, flexing the fingers on the arm that had been cut by the silver. His gaze flickered around the room, stubborn, angry, glittering with the lingering hint of fear at the memory of the tower. "I mean, this is kind of his fault. Why don't we just leave him there?"

"No." Hanna still hadn't come out of hiding but that angry tone in his voice said it all, "We're not leaving him there. We're going to rescue him."

"How do you expect to do that?" Lamont asked, frowning. "What, are you going to just _waltz in there_ and take him back? You don't stand a chance, Hanna! They'd take you away before you had a chance to even think about where they were keeping Worth!"

"You're just giving up on him," Hanna said, face still hidden, voice still flat.

"I am _not_!" Lamont shouted, "What you're suggesting is crazy! Stupid! You wouldn't stand a chance in there! Eli, tell him he's crazy! Tell why we can't get Worth out of there!"

The former agent stood in silence for a moment, his gaze going to a crack in the concrete floor. For an instant, his mind was miles away, and all he could wonder was just how long that crack had been there. How had it started? Had it been there before Worth, Lamont and Hanna had come there, seeking shelter in those nebulous years packed with lies and secrets? Were there still more things he didn't know, hidden away by squared shoulders and Hanna's haunted eyes? How many more of these were going to be crawling out of the woodwork at inopportune times, threatening to consume them all whole? The idea of that time, the time before he'd met Hanna - it seemed so impossibly far away to him, something he couldn't even begin to wrap his head around or imagine.

He couldn't wrap his head around it, but he could see the agony in the set of Lamont's shoulders, in the clench of Veser's sharp teeth and the way Toni's dainty tanned fingers twisted together, the chipped nail polish glinting in the flickering light. He could see the hole that had been left behind as if it were a tangible thing, could see bright blue eyes gazing into that abyss, and he had no idea where to begin to try to pull the redhead back - to try to pull them _all_ back.

But he had to try, because they were all he had now.

"You know… Hanna and Conrad honestly didn't have that much trouble getting into Vitra tower," the agent murmured, mahogany eyes narrowing as he raised his head. "And the vampire hunter had considerably less luck against four of us. If we do this properly…" He trailed off, gloved hands clenching into fists. The words sounded ridiculous, he couldn't believe they were coming out of his mouth. Somewhere in his mind, the long dead agent was pointing out every thing that could possibly go wrong.

But well, lately he was finding there was something very Hanna-ish about him that was capable of ignoring that.

Lamont gaped at him and then shook his head, "Look, I want to get Worth outta there as much as you guys do, but be serious about this. They've probably doubled - no, _tripled_ security since you guys were in there. Maybe you can get in, but how do you expect to get out alive? They won't let you escape. Not again..."

"Uh, dude," Veser cut in, "in case you've forgotten, I have _bombs_."

"Then we'll make sure we're really packing," Toni was speaking now, that fighting spark in her bright eyes that was ordinarily so familiar. She stood up from the table she'd seated herself on, boots clicking on the floor. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting really sick of these guys taking our friends. I'd like to go in and deal some damage already."

The former agent frowned as he looked to the dealer. "I'm certain you have the connections to get into the city. Hanna tells me you've had him smuggled inside of supply crates more than once, and the tower definitely has a loading dock."

"Dude," Veser said again with an exasperated edge, "_bombs_."

Hanna's partner nodded curtly. "It seems fitting for us. Explosions tend to make good distractions and possible exit strategies," he said, then frowned slightly. "Though I believe the tunnels are bugged now, so using them as an escape is probably not an option."

"We'll wing it," Toni shrugged. "That place is full of captured paranormals, right? Veser and I can just… you know, do what we did in the ark. Free a bunch and see what happens. Worse case scenario, we just blow a hole into the tunnels and charge it."

"Um," Conrad fidgeted, still sitting on the table, "I... I don't have to go, do I?" He looked genuinely terrified at the idea of going anywhere near Vitra Tower.

There werewolf shook her head, her ponytail a blur of black and blue curls as she reached out to touch his arm. "Of course not. Why would we send you there?" She flashed him a smile. "Everyone else is terrible at surveillance. We need you here, Mr. Vampire."

A nervous smile made its way across Conrad's face and he nodded once, grateful that he didn't need to leave, grateful that he had place where he was needed.

Lamont stood off to the side, opening and closing his mouth every minute or so, as if he were trying to come up with something to interject. However, as his dark eyes flicked across the group, it seemed to steal the words from him. "I…" He mumbled before trailing off, brow wrinkling as he seemed to be considering this.

"Sweet!" Veser grinned. "You hear that, Hanna? We're gonna get Worth so you can stop being depressed and shit!" The half-Selkie danced around and then instantly deflated when he saw Hanna had still not come out of his shell. "Hanna. Hanna, for the love of God, we're going to rescue him! Will you stop being an idiot?"

Hanna drew in a deep breath and straightened up in the chair, finally dropping his hands into his lap, "I'm all right, Veser." The flatness of his voice said otherwise. "I was just thinking about... just thinking." Those blue eyes were still empty and dull, the bracers still dimmed to a mere sputter of light, but he'd definitely recomposed himself after the silent breakdown he'd had earlier.

His partner gazed down at him for a moment, then stepped around so he could kneel down and look the redhead in the eyes. "Hanna," he murmured. "Look at me." Their gazes locked and the agent quirked a brow at him, his voice coming out in a low rumble as he continued. "I know this is hard. I understand you're probably blaming yourself. But would Worth want you to be doing this?"

Lamont snorted, "Worth wouldn't want us to rescue him at all."

"Dude," Veser cut in, "when have we _ever_ listened to Worth?"

Hanna smiled a little. "Heh, you're right. We never listen to him." He looked up at his friends, the people he trusted more than anyone else in the world. "And if we do rescue him, he's gonna get pissed and throw stuff at us." The redhead suddenly let out a loud, short laugh, "What am I so worried about? We can do this! We can rescue Worth and we'll stick it to the man while we're doin' it!"

The former agent frowned at this response, eyes narrowing slightly as he gazed down at the redhead. His smile was back in place, but it seemed more forced somehow, lacking something behind the eyes. The source of the problem could be seen in the set of Hanna's shoulders, bent as if the weight of everything from the past few days was placed upon them. A part of him wanted to reach out, wanted to take that weight from him, wanted to beg the redhead to let him to help, to shake Hanna until that stupid strand of heroism somehow fell out and his partner understood that he wasn't to blame.

But of course, all he could do was stand and watch helplessly.

If the others noticed this lack of spark, they didn't say anything. It was as if the redhead's smile had brought a new light to the darkness of the room, and regardless of the strain behind it they all seemed to sorely need it now. Perhaps they did know, and the former agent had to wonder this as he spotted the slight tension in Toni's own smile, in the way Veser punched his fists in the air and Conrad very nearly smiled himself.

Perhaps they knew and understood that there was no stopping Hanna from taking on the burdens he did. All they could do was follow along and desperately cling to that hope, because that was all they had right now.

"Fine." Lamont sighed. "Fine, there's no way I'm going to argue with you like this. I'll go set everything up." The dealer shook his head at the grinning Hanna, turned away, and left the room. The former agent could hear him muttering to himself as he ascended the stairs to the first floor and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this.

Lamont was obviously still scared, but even that couldn't deny Hanna's optimism, especially in regards to his best friend.

"Okay guys!" Hanna said happily. "Let's go get ready to rescue Worth! Because what's the Agency of Awesome without its doctor, right?"

"Right," Toni said with a grin. "Time to get our jerk back."

"Oh joy," Conrad said sarcastically, levering himself off the table and pulling a jacket on over his his ruined shirt, "how would I ever find my motivation for life without an asshole calling me gay every five minutes?"

"Well, is it a lie?" Veser asked, and then grinned innocently when Conrad glared at him, "Aw, come on! We're going on a rescue mission and I get to go _and_ I get to blow stuff up! This is gonna be awesome!"

"It'll be easy!" Hanna added brightly, "We've got nothing to worry about, especially now we've got Connie watching our backs again. Right Eli?" And the redhead turned to the former agent with that familiar grin on his face.

His partner gazed back at him, expression blank for the moment. The smile was so bright, it could have been genuine. There was clearly no point in pushing the issue, so the ex-agent finally forced a small smile. "Of course," he murmured. He had to believe there was some truth to that smile and everyone else's enthusiasm.

Otherwise, he was starting to worry nothing would be able to chase away those shadows in Hanna's eyes.


	24. Chapter 19

_Sorry I've been a bit behind in updating this thing. I keep forgetting that we post it here too. So again, I'm sorry. _

* * *

**CHAPTER NINETEEN**

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* * *

**

He really didn't want to do this.

It was quite possibly the stupidest move they could ever make - invading Vitra Tower - but they were doing it anyway, and Lamont supposed that was why he was so frustrated.

That, and because of the promise.

Lamont remembered it so clearly because it was one of the few times he and Worth _hadn't_ been drunk, one of the few times he had been able to have a decent, serious talk with the doctor without it turning into a fist fight; one of the few nights Hanna had been asleep; one of the few nights they had been wide awake, burdened by shadows of the past.

It had been hard, so hard, to try and pretend everything hadn't happened, and it had been a terror to try and escape it. A terror Lamont had been more than willing to try and let go. And they had talked and it had been a discussion the likes of which they had never had again.

That was the night that they had made a promise.

Both of them had promised each other that they would never get involved with the Council, they would never invade Vitra Tower, and they would never, ever cross a line that would cause them to go back to the inner circle as less than citizens.

Yes, Worth had ruined his life; yes, had broken that promise; yes, Worth had put them all in terrible danger, and Conrad was probably traumatized for life because of what had happened to him. And, damn it all, Lamont knew how stupid this was, how ridiculous and risky this was, and he knew they could all end up dead doing it.

But here he was, going along with it, doing it anyway. He could almost hear Worth laughing and calling him a weak little pussy as he gathered up everything necessary for this ridiculously suicidal mission.

Yet, beyond all the frustration and the worry and the fear, there was one solid reason that he was going along with all this insanity.

Worth was his friend.

Worth was his friend, and he owed the man his life.

In words, it seemed like such a simple reason, but in feeling, it somehow ran much deeper.

That was why he was going along with this silly plan, and Lamont knew it. He didn't have to like what they were doing but he was going along with it because Worth had already done the same for him.

Twice.

"Lamont?" The dealer jumped, nearly dropping a handful of communicators to the floor, and looked around to see Hanna standing in the doorway to the storage room. The redhead's expression was clear but his blue eyes danced with a certain understanding; he knew why Lamont was back here, fiddling needlessly with some technology that was in perfect working order.

"Uh, eheh, yeah Hanna?" Lamont forced a casual smile, setting the communicators aside.

"It's time to go."

The dealer blinked, sighed, and then smiled - a real smile, "All right then. Heh, guess it's time to get our resident jackass back."

Hanna's face was suddenly brightened by a beaming grin, "Yeah! Let's give those Council guys the ol' one-two in the face!" Hanna swung an arm through the air, imitating a punch, "And we can get our friend back too."

"Yeah," Lamont agreed with knowing smile, "We can get our friend back."

It was a stupid, reckless idea.

But they needed to do it anyway.

* * *

It had been four days.

Worth was only aware it had been four days because Ellis seemed to have a rather meticulous appreciation for time. Every few hours or so he was warbling in the blond's ear, cheerily reminding Worth just how long he'd been there. This was always accompanied by a cheery remark that there was no way his friends were coming to save him, so he may as well give up.

Except that was just fine with Worth. Let them not come, he'd fucking told them not to.

Aside from the constant annoyance of Ellis - whom was a constant buzzing in his ear like some sort of lab coat-clad mosquito - the days had passed by in a sort of agonizing blur. Beating after beating that had left him bruised and bleeding, creative uses of that damn metal rod and other implements leaving him mildly impressed. There'd been the removal of the knife and cuts that traced along inches of already scarred skin, areas where it had been stabbed and twisted inward like some sort of razor corkscrew. There had been injections of things that Worth hadn't even recognized that sent fire through his veins, left him thrashing in his chair and fighting back screams

After roughly a day and a half it had become clear to his captor that he really couldn't do this on his own, and so Ellis had finally gone to the professionals. In a way, Worth saw this as a victory, and it was hard not to when the frustration was so clearly expressed on Ellis' face. Of course, his captor's frustration had quickly turned to glee as the professionals had promptly taken the blond and waterboarded him, left him choking and gasping for air and _laughing_ in a garbled sort of manner, because fuck, did they really think drowning was of any concern to him?

That was the problem, when it came down to it. Ellis and his little hired goons certainly tried to get under his skin. There had been acupuncture needles and screws jammed into his flesh; he'd been burned and choked and jammed into an airtight box that felt more like a coffin. There had been still more fists, and far too much electricity, and hours where he was simply trapped in the dark, feeling nothing and hearing nothing, thanks to combinations of serums that left him a prisoner in his own body. There had been days of abuse and mere hours of sleep between them, doctors occasionally rushing in and working just enough to patch him up or force healing pills down his throat so skin could knit together and blood could replenish. Just so it could all be repeated.

It had been four days of hell and, when it came down to it, the only thing that was really bothered him was that lovely little mess people called nicotine withdrawal. Funny that after everything else, it was the throbbing headache, tingling in his fingers and the ache in his lungs that really bothered him. Sure, breathing through a broken nose was no picnic and, after a certain point for him, pain did in fact stop being fun; however, Worth had always been the sort of person to toe the line between life and death, gladly inviting every chance to feel that crisp bite to his system to remind him that he was alive. There had been a time where each day had been an exercise in seeking these things out, where each slice from a knife or punch to the gut had been what he lived for, and even now he couldn't quite explain where it all had come from. All he can really think of is the time where he and Lamont had fought for the fifth time in a week shortly after fleeing the inner circle and he'd suddenly found his best friend shaking him violently, shouting a question he was never quite sure of the answer to.

_"Do you just_ want_ to die, Worth? Is that your fucking problem!"_

At the time, Worth had just stared at him, unsure of how to reply. Now seated in the darkness of his cell with nothing but the cold clasps around his wrists and the throb of his wounds for company, it suddenly seemed impossibly funny. The blond let out a soft chuckle at the memory, the sound echoing through the darkness. Maybe that _was_ his problem, or perhaps it was just some sort of challenge to him. How long could he last before he finally got his wish and died young, immortal in his thirties and not giving a damn about any of it?

He supposed that's what he was holding out for. He didn't expect to get out. It wasn't that he wanted to die, but he knew better than to expect otherwise. He'd orchestrated everything from behind the scenes enough, he figured, and now all he could hope was what he'd done would be enough to take that bastard down in the end. He wasn't really expecting to live.

But he'd be damned if he didn't plan to give Ellis hell to his dying breath and possibly after.

"Good morning, Worth~!" The door slid open with its usual light hiss and Ellis strode in, hands stuffed into the pockets of a very familiar coat. "You like it? It's yours." He grinned, a sneering expression that showed his teeth. "I had to wash it a couple of times to get all the stink and grime out, but the fur is a nice addition." His smile grew, mocking. "I think I look dashing in it. So what about you? How are you today? Feel more like talking?"

The blond just sort of stared at him through his one working eye, the other inflamed into an impressive black bruise that was too swollen to be seen through for the moment. Finally, he let out a snort. "Ugh, it looks stupid on you. Seriously, take it off, you're not even tall enough for it," he said as he shook his head. Inside he was fuming, because damnit: _no one_ washed his coat.

What was really sad was that between this and the snapping of his middle finger, a part of Worth honestly wasn't sure which was the more grievous sin against him. If there was anything he regretted about this whole mess, it was this. He fucking _loved_ that coat.

"You're just jealous because it looks better on me." Ellis smiled. "Besides, you shouldn't be so grumpy! I brought a special present for you today!"

Worth's eyebrows rose for a moment before he gave a snort. "Oh gee, you shouldn't have. Is it tha' chance to punch you in the face that I've been wantin' so Goddamn much?" He wanted a more witty reply, he really did, but even the blond's seemingly endless bag of insults was running low after days of little to no sleep and withdrawal.

Ellis' smile dropped a bit. "No, sorry to disappoint you. It's actually better than that." He drew his hands out of the pockets and held up a large syringe filled with a thick red liquid, "I had this idea especially for you. There's a book called Nineteen Eighty-Four and there's this one particular scene in it that -."

"You _read_?" The doctor cut in, his expression one of exaggerated surprise. "An' for that matter, I thought Nineteen Eighty-Four was banned… damn Ellis, I'm almost impressed."

"_Shut up_!" Ellis snarled, before composing himself and spinning the syringe in his fingers, "As I was saying, there's this one particular scene I rather liked where the main character was taken hostage and they... hm, word ...what's the word I'm looking for? Oh, reeducate him." Ellis grinned. "And my favorite bit is this thing called Room 101."

The scientist began pacing back and forth, swinging the needle in his hand, occasionally fluffing the furry color of Worth's coat, "Now Room 101 is a really horrible place. They would make you experience your worst fear, whatever it might be, and it doesn't really matter who you were because that would make _anyone_ crack." Ellis clasped his hands behind his back but continued to pace, looking for all the world like a teacher speaking to a class of youngsters. "In the book, the main character's greatest fear was rats. So they threatened to take a cage of rats and attach it to his face so they'd eat out his eyes."

Ellis laughed, finally stopping his pacing in front of Worth with that stupid, wide grin on his face. "But see, you're already pretty rat-like - stinking rodent that you are - so it wouldn't work like that for you. Still, the idea is nice." He lifted the syringe up, letting the crimson stuff on the inside catch the light. "This serum has a similar effect. I'm pretty sure you remember it from Subject Thirteen, don't you?" He tested the plunger, sending a fine spray of red into the air. "What's wrong, Worthy? Cat got your tongue? Don't you have something to say? Some witty comeback? Anything?"

The blond considered his captor's words for a moment, grimacing slightly. Not because of the serum, because no, that didn't worry him. Mostly it was the memory of those wide blue eyes, staring sightlessly into nothing as his mouth paid lip service to everything, as that crimson poison tore through his mind and left him crying and pleading for people who no longer existed.

After a moment Worth let out a breath, forcing himself back into the present. There was no sense in worrying about that, the past was past and he had a far more aggravating future staring him in the face. He gave the best shrug he could manage. "Sorry Ellis, if you're looking for a reaction you're not gonna get it. You should know by now, I ain't scared of anything." He cocked his head to the side and grinned, ignoring the splinters of pain from the motion. "Besides, ain't that stuff illegal? Seeing how it has a seventy percent chance of fuckin' destroying my mind, and you aren't getting shit if that happens."

"Oh, please," Ellis scoffed, stepping closer. "If Subject Thirteen could live through it, then you'll be more then fine. I just can't wait to see you reduced to a sniveling pile of hysterics." With that, the scientist leaned down and slid the needle into Worth's arm, pressing down on the plunger and sending the red liquid in to do its dirty work.

His prisoner didn't even react as the needle bit into his skin, save for glaring up at Ellis. As soon as the needle was removed, the doctor let out a sigh as he turned to stare at the wall. "Right, well, this'd better be interestin'. If all I get is a bad trip, 'm gonna be disappointed," he muttered, settling in his chair as if he were preparing to watch an incredibly dull movie.

"With a mind like yours, I expect quite the spectacle." Ellis said cheerfully, dragging a cart across the floor to stand behind Worth's chair, "I haven't had lunch yet...maybe I'll get dinner _and_ a show!" The scientist began humming to himself as he unrolled a line of wires and began sticking pads to Worth's head, securing them to his temples and forehead, "Remember this thing, Worth? I get see exactly what you're seeing! Isn't that exciting?"

"_Fantastic_," Worth said dryly as he rolled his eyes, jerking his head away on reflex from one of the pads so he could flash disgusting teeth in Ellis' direction. "It's so good t' know Varuna's tax dollars are going to the important shit in life."

The scientist behind him huffed as he booted up the machine and dragged a chair over, "This is important and you know it. Now just sit back and relax, all right? The show's about to start." There was a horrible smile in Ellis' voice when he spoke.

He received a low sigh in response, the doctor wincing as a low throbbing pain returned to his skull. "Ugh. Well, look, aside from my fuckin' head and feelin' a bit dizzy, I'm not getting any visions of spectral horror, so maybe you oughta -"

He was cut off by the door hissing open and a couple of familiar figures were shoved into the room, followed by a couple of the Ahimsa guards. They were beaten and bruised, hands cuffed behind their backs, stumbling as though the floor was tilting beneath them. Hanna and Lamont fell to their knees on the metal floor with heavy thuds and grunts of pain, the guards behind them standing close by, those electrical sticks held in close vicinity to their captives.

The blond's eyes widened as he took in the sight of them, breath catching in his throat. "…What?"

"Oh. Well that's interesting..." The scientist behind him murmured. "Anyway, I brought some friends in to see you, Worth," Ellis said mildly, "I thought maybe they could help to loosen your tongue..."

Hanna was staring up at Worth with those wide, terrified blue eyes, a confusing mixture of betrayal, pain, and fear playing across his face. There were bruises all across his thin frame, he was wearing nothing but a pair of dirty shorts, his scarred chest exposed and covered in swollen needle points and cuts. The edges of that horrid scar were an awful, inflamed, irritated red. He didn't say anything, his face a pale as he gazed at Worth, pleading for help.

Lamont, on the other hand, was not so quiet, "Hey Worth... enjoyin' the view, you stupid fuck? I told you not to come. Now look what happened..." The dealer was definitely the worse for wear, even as he flashed a grim smile. Dried blood was caked across his face, nearly masking the horrible bruises there, deep and barely healed cuts traced his burly arms, his shirt was nearly in shreds, and his breathing was shallow and labored.

The doctor was silent for a moment, yellowed teeth clenched, eyes wide and body completely rigid as he took in the sight of them. There was something so horribly familiar about these images, reminiscent of flashes of Lamont in prison from years earlier and those bright eyes gazing up at him from a work table. After a moment, however, he shook his head violently, grimacing at the agony that laced through his skull from the motion. "No. No, they're not fucking here," he tried to angle himself so he could face Ellis, and was irritated to find he couldn't. In spite of this, he smirked. "Nice try bastard, but I know better. If you really had them, you'd have brought 'em in before now. This is the drug. Don't fuck with me, dumbass, I'm smarter than that."

"Worth..." Hanna's voice was a whimper of fear and desperation, "Worth, I'm sorry...I...we were just trying to save you a-and..."

"We caught them," Ellis giggled childishly, speaking as if both Hanna and Worth hadn't spoken. "Oooh, it was so easy, really. We followed your friend back to your little hidy-hole and raided it. Easy as pie. It was wonderful."

"Worth," Hanna's pleading voice again, "Worth, they killed Rogerio... they shot him...!" A tremor crept into the redhead's voice, "He's dead..."

"Dead as a doornail," Ellis added helpfully and Hanna whimpered pitifully.

"Don't listen to him, Hanna," Lamont grunted. "Heh, we'll pay them back..." That confident edge to his voice dropped a little as he looked up at Worth and added, "Somehow."

The blond felt his stomach give a violent twist at these words, and he wasn't sure if it was the drug or the idea of it all that was causing that reaction. Again, he shook his head and was frustrated to find this only made his growing dizzyness worse. "You're lying," He said again, a tenseness in his hands sending splinters of pain through his broken fingers and the gaping wound in his palm. "This is the drug. Don't fuck with me Ellis, you didn't find them. You couldn't have found them."

"Didn't I?" Ellis snorted. "Look at the faces of your friends and tell me that. Or, better yet, ask them how the rest of your rebel trash _died_."

"If it's any, aheh, any consolation," Lamont said thickly, "Toni and Veser kept fighting the whole time. Veser was cussing them out like a whirlwind - you would have been proud." A smirk traced the dealer's bruised face. "Haha, and Toni... she was something else. Right Hanna...?"

"Yeah..." That dejected, hurt, lost tone in Hanna's voice was almost painful to listen to. His eyes were still locked on Worth's, begging for help, alone and wounded, "Yeah, sh-she kept fighting..." He let out another one of those pathetic whimpering noises. "Connie didn't get to fight at all, though..."

"No..." Lamont's voice dropped into a hoarse, dark tone, "No, he didn't." His dark eyes flickered up to meet Worth's gaze, "You sent him out into the field when he wasn't ready and he came back, he came back scared out of his fucking mind. Traumatized." The dealer shook his head, looking genuinely upset. "When the Ahimsa attacked he... he never stood a chance."

"He screamed," Hanna murmured and for an instant, his eyes closed as though he was fighting off tears. Then they were open again, horrified, wide. "K-kept screaming... cursing you... hating you... hating you for what happened to him..."

Worth grit his teeth, tried not to consider the sinking in his chest as if everything was falling out from beneath him. Because no, this could not be true. It was too practiced, too rehearsed, as if Hanna and Lamont were reading a script from his own mind. It had to be the serum coursing through his veins, picking through his brain, but of course that made no sense because he wasn't scared of anything and cared for no one, so this shouldn't have been happening. It should have been rats gnawing at his flesh, should have been bugs swarming his eyes, something ridiculous and stupid and corporeal that he could handle.

What he couldn't take were those eyes, wide and pleading and hurt as if this whole mess were his fault. What he couldn't take were Lamont's words and fuck, of course he knew the dealer is right because Conrad wasn't ready for this. Worth had thought he had been ready but of course the vampire wasn't and Goddamnit _no_. No, that was not true, because Worth had seen the set of the former graphic designer's shoulders, had seen that determination in his eyes and damnit this was not his fault because if it hadn't been for Hanna, the little spy mission would have been fine…

This was not his fault. This was not true.

But Worth could see it all in his mind's eye as clearly as if he'd been there. He could see Veser going down in a haze of gunfire and cursing, green-eyed and young and too fucking reckless for his own good. He could see Toni leaping through their destroyed factory, could see the silver bullet that finally took her down and sent her tumbling to the floor, beautiful and somehow artistic even in death. He could see Hanna's partner shoving the redhead aside in a desperate attempt to shield him, a show of pointless heroics for a fight he'd never fully understood. He could see Conrad curled in a ball on the floor, screaming and crying like a child, those eyes wide and starved and demanding to know why this was happening.

_Why, Worth? Why did you send him out there?_

The doctor didn't have an answer, so all he could do was shake his head again. "Liar," he murmured as he squeezed his eyes shut, though his voice was weaker this time, more distant. The images were coming too quickly to fight now and everything was spinning, he was having trouble remembering anything but the scene before him. But still he clung to that word, stubbornly, a lifeline in the abyss.

This could not be true. It could not be. Worth wouldn't let it be true.

"Worth..." Hanna's voice moaned, shaking, begging, pathetically weak. "W-we're not lying...why won't you look at me? Worth…W-Worth…!"

"Easy, Hanna," Lamont muttered.

"Uh-oh," Ellis' tone was mocking, almost laughing. "Look at that, you made Subject Thirteen cry. I didn't realize it had the ability to do that; probably just crocodile tears, hm?"

"You bastard," Lamont's voice grumbled. "You broke our promise." There was a shivering, gulping sob from Hanna. "And you made the kid cry, way to go."

"Now, now, Worth," Ellis was obviously enjoying himself, "don't be so cruel." There was a creak as the scientist shifted in his seat, "All I want is the information. Tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen and nobody else has to get hurt."

Worth shook his head and threw himself back against his seat, kicked those bruises and burns on his sides back to life in an attempt to drive away the splinters of nightmare in his head. Hanna did not cry like this, Lamont didn't say things like this. It didn't fit, it could not be real. Just tune it out, they aren't there, this isn't real and it shouldn't matter because you don't care anyway...

"Worth!" Hanna shouted, "_Please!_"

"Someone shut it up..." Ellis murmured in a bored sort of voice, "I'm trying to think, here."

There was a shuffle and then a heavy _thwack_ that cracked the air. Hanna let out a cry of pain and there was a thud. Lamont shouted a loud curse and then there was another sound of something heavy hitting flesh.

The blond actually flinched at this. "Leave them alone. They're not real, this is stupid…" He ground out. He knew this was not real, he was trying so desperately to cling to the idea, but the sound of those cries were like weights on his shoulders, dragging him down and grinding into his broken fingers like someone stomping on them, chipping at his grip on reality.

"Worth, what the _fuck_ is wrong with you!" Lamont was shouting at him. "We're right here! Open your Goddamn eyes! What, you just don't want to admit that it's _your fault_!" There was another strike and the dealer grunted in pain. "You stupid shit! Is this so hard to believe! We're right here! Look at us! Look at Hanna! This is your doing! Your fault!"

The words hit the blond like a sledgehammer, had him physically cringing as he tried to throw them off. He could desperately cling to denial, could try to ignore the way reality seemed to be slipping through his fingers like water. He could remind himself that Hanna and Lamont were so much stronger than this, that they were _all_ so much stronger than this. He had denial after denial for everything else but Worth did not lie to himself and he wasn't sure he could deny those words.

Except this wasn't happening. This wasn't happening, and Worth had to try to remind himself of that. He had to hold on to that because this was not his fault, could not be his fault and damn it, it shouldn't have mattered because for the doctor responsibility was normally something that slid off of him like water.

"I d-don't wanna be here...!" Hanna was crying, his voice sputtering with tears and undiluted terror. "Please, Worth, you know what they'll do to us! Wh-what they'll do to _me_! Don't leave me here! Worth!" And then he shouted in pain as he was struck again.

This was too familiar. It was a knife in his brain that picked at memories of screams in a too small lab. It was too familiar and Lamont laying there beaten and bruised was too familiar and it was kicking at that voice in his brain, the one that he usually ignored that remembered these things all too clearly and had made that damn promise to Lamont without batting an eye.

_We won't go there, 'Mont, promise. We're fuckin' smarter than that. You and Hanna will be safe. This will not happen again. Never again._

"Wow, Worth, I guess I pegged you wrong," Ellis said as the sounds of Hanna and Lamont shouting and being beaten continued. "See, I thought you actually cared about your friends but you're just sitting there, letting them get pummeled. If you keep letting that go on, one of them might... break."

Those words made him want to snap back, made anger twist in his gut like a flame. Because no, that was not true. Hanna and Lamont were stronger than that, they would not break for a bastard like Ellis. They were stronger than that, they had to be stronger than that, he would not have sent Hanna off to do the things he did if the redhead hadn't been able to take care of himself. He would not have stepped back and used them all in his stupid game if he hadn't been sure they couldn't handle it, he wasn't stupid. They were stronger than that and they'd chosen this fight and damnit it was not his fault if they'd all made their own decisions.

"L-look at me, Worth!" Lamont shouted angrily. "You fucking coward! Running away from what you've done! Coward!"

And Hanna was just screaming his name, begging for help as he was struck again and again, pleading to be let go, that he would rather be anywhere but here, that he didn't want to go through everything again, and that they had to get out, and everyone was dead because of them.

Worth was left cringing against it, fighting against the swirls and twinges and the sheer jumbled mess that was becoming his thoughts. He wanted so badly to believe this wasn't happening, but those cries were making it _so damn hard_. This was the first time the idea of confessing had even crossed his mind. Before it had been all about getting a rise from Ellis, competing in his own personal hell to see just how long this shit would take. Now it was about something else and as much as he wanted to fight against it, the idea of any of them dying for him is almost incomprehensible. It is incomprehensible but here it is and _damnit, this isn't real_.

Suddenly Worth felt as if he were made from nothing but anger, and he wasn't sure if it was anger directed at Ellis or the two in front of him or the damn drug in his system but _fuck_, all he wanted to do is punch _someone's_ face in. He was shuddering in his chair as he struggled to rise and somehow move, felt that twinge in his broken fingers and struggled to grasp onto that pain like some sort of life line.

This was not real. This could not be real. He had to focus on that and the rage in his system, had to -

"I forgot how annoying Subject Thirteen could be when it opens its mouth." Ellis scoffed, "But your friend is doing a pretty decent job of pissing me off too. Maybe we should shut him up permanently? What do you think, Worth? Would that be enough to make you talk? Should I do it? I could, you know, all it would take was a single word..."

These words made Worth's eyes shoot open, pupils dark and frantic as they fell upon Lamont and Hanna. He sat there for a moment and tried to force his body to relax, force his chest out of the death grip it had taken on his heart and lungs. Those wide eyes met Lamont's, and Worth was completely frozen, because he had no idea how to even react.

"A bullet to the brain, Worth," Ellis said and there was a smile in his voice. "Click. Bang. And that's the end of it. You want to see if I won't do it?" The guard behind Lamont reached into his coat and pulled out a gun. "Tell me what I want to hear, Worth, and no one has to die today. All you have to do is talk."

He wasn't sure how to respond, words suddenly caught in his throat, jumbled and fighting and leaving an unsure mess as to what to come out. There were curses against Ellis and curses against Lamont and Hanna and the whole fucking world, curses against those damn kids back at a factory that burned, curses and screams that this was not his fault, none of it was his fucking fault and some sort of plea that he hadn't known could even come from him. There's the plea that he hates because damn it all he and 'Mont were not known for sympathy or friendly bullshit but he needs it now and there are those words in this throat, heaviest and worst of all, terms that can save his best friend and damn a kid who means so much to him in an instant.

He was suddenly cripplingly aware that he could not save both and he just didn't know what to do.

"Don't tell them anything!" Lamont shouted, voice rising an octave in something that was almost panic, "Whatever happens, don't tell them anything! At least keep that promise, Worth! At least keep that one!" The dealer's eyes narrowed. "And just remember that I wouldn't be here if you didn't break the first one..."

"Shut up, you fucking moron," Worth wasn't sure where the words were coming from - as if he were speaking in tongues - but he knew they were his because his voice was hoarse as fuck. He knew those words were his and, Goddamnit 'Mont, don't give them a reason, this is so fucking stupid. This whole thing was as stupid as the idea that he'd let it all happen in the first place, like the idea that Lamont had even been caught years ago and, yeah, Worth was aware it was him that put the dealer there at all. It was his fault, and that was why they'd made that damn promise and, fuck it 'Mont, you know I don't keep promises, why are you looking at me like that?

But he'd made that damn promise to stop this from happening, and damnit, Worth knew, and he remembered, and they'd both sworn to keep Hanna safe. They had sworn that but it seemed so impossible in this situation. So all the doctor could do was shake his head and he hates that that's all he has, as if he's stuck on repeat. In spite of this his mouth continues, unbidden, speaking for him, full of rage and disbelief. "Don't… Ellis, don't you fucking _dare_…"

"What's that?" Ellis asked childishly, "Didn't quite hear you, Worthy? Were you about to tell me what you did to Subject Thirteen? Or do I have to shoot someone?"

At that point, Hanna let out a wordless, pained cry, tears streaming from his eyes. "Don't!" His voice was shaking, cracked, desperate, a broken, lost sound that didn't sound like Hanna at all, "Please... don't kill him! Don't kill anyone! No more killing..." He shook his head, thin, ruined chest heaving with sobs. "No more killing!"

Worth heard those words and he wanted so badly to say something. Normally Hanna's pleading was nothing to him, but this was so different from usual and he wasn't sure what to do. Normally, it was Worth's job to put Hanna back together so, of course, that was all he wanted. He wanted to take Hanna and fix all those stupid wounds and promise that no, no one was going to die and shake the damn kid if he kept crying, wanted to lie and tell him it was fine and everyone was okay and anything, anything if it would make Hanna stop.

But of course he couldn't do that, and Worth was well aware of that as he sat under those hot lights. He sat under those lights, long body bent forward as if it were trapped under the weight of the world, and rather suddenly he was raising his eyes to meet Lamont's. Because no, Worth couldn't say anything and he knew it. He could not give Hanna up because he promised, he could not give Hanna up because he knew things would be so much worse if he did. He wanted to lie and tell the redhead everything was going to be okay, but of course it wasn't.

His decision had already been made years ago, and he hoped that would be conveyed somehow in his face as he met Lamont's gaze. He looked into the eyes of a dead man and of course he knew he couldn't say anything, because it didn't mean anything, not when he'd left Lamont kneeling on the floor like that.

He had just damned his best friend and they both knew it.

Ellis took this struggling silence as an answer.

"I can't believe you. I mean, I knew you were an asshole but this -" the scientist let out a sickening snort of laughter - "this is almost too much." He laughed again and then sighed, "Well, all right then, have it your way. You've made your choice then, no backsies." A creak from the chair, Ellis' voice right by Worth's ear, a sniggering command, breath still stinking of coffee: "Mr. Toucey is no longer of any use. Shoot him."

Hanna let out another scream, sparks flying from his bracers, thrashing in his bonds. His words were a jumbled mess, incoherent cries for mercy, to stop, to let them go, to stop the killing. The Ahimsa guard behind him slammed his foot into the redhead's back and pinned Hanna to the floor. Hanna twisted, sniveling, begging crying.

The guard with his gun drawn, lowered it, aiming at Lamont's skull but the dealer jerked away, trying to stay out of reach. The guard grabbed the back of Lamont's shirt, hauling him back, and pressed the gun barrel into Lamont's black hair.

"No! Stop! Please!" Hanna cried, "Worth, make them stop! Don't kill him! Please! Don't kill him!"

"Remember your promise, Worth!" Lamont shouted as the sound of the gun charging got louder, a buzzing hum against Hanna's shrieking. "Remember that!" The dealer's voice dropped suddenly: "And take care of Hanna. Don't let them get him. Don't let them use him like you used us for your fucking games..."

"Enough," Ellis snorted. "Kill him already."

"NO!" A final scream from Hanna, and then the crack of a gunshot.

There was a dull, empty sort of thud as Lamont's body hit the floor, limp, lifeless.

Dead.

Hanna choked, staring with wide, shocked blue eyes that still ran with tears. He didn't make a sound, just stared, first at Lamont's body and then, slowly, he looked to Worth.

And there was blame in those eyes.

Without a word, he was pinning it all on Worth. All the trauma, all the fighting, all the hatred, all the pain, all the death; he was throwing it on Worth's shoulders, blaming him for everything that had happened. Accusing, hurt, angry, and wondering why.

_Why, Worth, why? Why did you let this happen? Why did you let them do this to me? Why did you let them hurt me? Why did you let them hurt my friends? Why did you let them all _die_?_

The doctor was completely silent, dark eyes wide, unable to breathe as he gazed down at the blood splatters on the floor. He had not looked away, could not have looked away, because of course he owed it to his best friend to at least fucking watch the execution he'd essentially ordered. He had not looked away and now he couldn't. His entire body was suddenly felt numb, his chest hollow, his mind spinning and damn it all there was still some pathetic word in his mind, something about a drug and how this wasn't real but in the face of Lamont's body it was suddenly nothing. Those words meant nothing and there was his best friend, dead on the floor, dead and damn it all he had promised this wouldn't happen.

Worth shook his head, tried to swallow the burn in his throat, let it settle onto his shoulders like everything else. You made the decision Worth, fucking deal. Men don't cry or react to this bullshit and of course Lamont would not have wanted him to crumble, not really, but it was hard with the sudden stabbing agony in his chest and the burning in his throat. The blond gulped, trying to clear it, and suddenly he felt cripplingly aware of just how long it had been since he'd had a good drink or a cigarette and that was all he wanted. Just drown in alcohol and cigarettes and let it all slide away, latch onto that familiar persona that didn't give a shit and bury it all beneath substance abuse.

But of course there was no numbing this, nothing to be done to put it all away, and the kid was watching him, blaming him, and damn it all.

So he leaned forward, face in shadow as he struggled to get some form of breath in his lungs. When he finally managed it, it was like breathing in fire, that single breath catching everything aflame. Rather suddenly that crushing weight was transferred to something different, something dark and awful that flowed through his veins like liquid steel.

"…You fucking bastard…" The words came out in a whisper, barely audible.

"Ooohh, haven't heard that one before," Ellis said in a sarcastic voice. "Are you ready to talk yet, Worth? Ready to tell us what you did? Your friend died because you wouldn't say anything. Is that really what you want? Just talk. That's all I want."

"You had no right…." Worth shook his head again, barely even noticing the way the room spun. "You Goddamn _ass_!" With those words, he suddenly exploded in his chair, jerking backwards in a desperate attempt to loosen his restraints. In the past four days he hadn't tried, but this was different, so very different. It didn't matter that he was so beat up he could barely move; it didn't matter that the room was filled with armed guards; it didn't matter that he was well aware that the restraints could hold a vampire at full strength. In that moment, all he wanted was to be loose and tear Ellis limb from limb.

"You had no fucking _right_!" the blond roared as he thrashed, trying desperately to just move enough to get the bastard in his sights. "Why the fuck did you do that! He didn't _do anything_ to you! They were worth more alive than dead, you Goddamn moron! This was between you and me, Ellis! _You and me_!"

"It certainly was," Ellis replied cheekily. "And it still is. You're the one who dragged everyone else into this. You're the one who decided to stay safe in your rundown castle while you sent your pawns out to play. You're the one who got them killed, Worth. _You_ did that! Look at Subject Thirteen! Look at him and tell him it's not your fault! Go on! Do it! I _dare_ you!"

This drew an enraged snarl from Worth, the doctor throwing himself backwards in an attempt to somehow lash out at his rival, even if it just involved bashing _both_ of their heads in. "It's _not_!" He snapped. "I don't _give a shit_, it wasn't my fucking responsibility! I tried to fucking stop, it was _you_ who kept going, it was _you_ who wouldn't leave it alone! They fucking made their decisions! Don't you _dare_ pin this on me, you idea-stealing _bastard_!"

Ellis let out peal of laughter. "_Your_ idea! Unless I'm very much mistaken, the records state that that idea was _mine_! And if you don't start _talking_ the results of my idea are going to get hurt!"

As if to demonstrate, the Ahimsa guard pinning Hanna to the floor drove the tip of the electric stick into the back of the redhead's neck. Hanna screamed and bucked as the electricity flowed through him, tears still streaming from his eyes, the tattoos on his body flickering with each wave of pain that lanced through him.

Again the blond thrashed, hands clenching into fists, splinters of agony from his broken fingers only seeming to add fuel to the fire. "Leave him alone! He isn't yours, you asshole, and if you don't fucking _stop_ -"

"You'll what!" Ellis cut in. "Curse at me? Ha! Look, maybe Subject Thirteen really was yours to begin with, but - oh wwaaiiiittt...! You know that means this really _is_ your fault, right? Because it belonged to you first? It is your fault."

Somehow, these words proved to be the breaking point. Perhaps it was the acknowledgement that Worth couldn't do anything, the horrible reminder of those clamps on his wrists and ankles that held him back. Perhaps it was those words, echoing Lamont's nearly word for word, joining the man's legacy in his skull and branding themselves there, tugging at memories of deaths he hadn't seen. Whatever it was, the words suddenly had the doctor slumping in his chair, teeth grinding together as he tried so damn hard to fight against something he knew he could never deny, not fully.

"Worth..." Hanna whimpered, still on the floor though he was no longer pinned there by the guard, "Worth... why...? Why did you let this happen...? Why did you let them all die?" Those blue eyes stared up at him, pleading, begging, wondering, lost. "Why did you let this happen to me?"

"Oh, that's easy to answer," the scientist behind Worth said with a smile in his voice. "It's because he doesn't _care about you_."

Hanna's eyes widened, tears trickling down his cheeks, and he stared at Worth, begging for the doctor to tell him it was a lie, to tell him that what Ellis said was nothing but empty words, that Worth really did care.

Those eyes met Worth's dark gaze and the doctor still didn't know what to say. Because as much as he wanted to deny it, fuck, of course he cared. He'd started caring the moment he saw those Goddamn eyes and he wanted to deny it- but of course he couldn't, not anymore. Hanna had wormed his way into his life and made himself everything, made himself all that mattered. But of course he couldn't say it because fuck, Hanna, you know I don't do that, and if I say anything you know what fucking happens…

"Hanna…" Again his lips were moving against his will, and the doctor shook his head. Because in that moment all he wanted to do was reach out and reassure the kid, to drop empty promises and somehow push Lamont's body away, find some impossible way to make it all work, but he can't. He can't because he and Ellis both know this damn kid was the one who had started and ended Worth's world, was the reason for everything, and if Worth vocalized that he would ruin it all.

Admit you care for something, and it will be taken away. Welcome to Varuna.

"Worth...?" Small, pleading, so very un-Hanna-like that it was almost painful.

"Look, I'll make a deal with you," Ellis said in a low voice. "You tell me what you did, and I won't have to hurt it anymore. Because you know that every time we hit Subject Thirteen, every strike, it will blame you."

Worth shook his head again, and damn that gesture for being all he had. He wanted to have something else, anything else to make this better. He wanted to be able to reach out and stop this, but he was aware of his only option and it wasn't one he could take. He was stuck with a broken child in a basement and a body, his world in shambles around him and there was nothing left to do.

"No answer?" Ellis asked. "All right, fine. You'll have to talk sooner or later but in the mean time - " The scientist snapped his fingers right next to Worth's ear. "Do whatever you want to Subject Thirteen. Just make sure it stays alive."

A nod from the Ahimsa guard, and then the man lifted his booted foot and slammed it into Hanna's back again, grinding down on the tattoos between the redhead's shoulder blades. Hanna shouted in pain and wriggled under the man's foot, only to yelp as the guard grabbed a handful of the youth's fiery red hair and yanked him upright only to punch him to the floor again.

Hanna let out a whimper of fear and pain, turning those dull blue eyes on Worth again, "Help me..." He begged in his soft, broken voice, "Please Worth... help me..."

Hanna's words and cries seemed so distant all of a sudden, mixing together with memories that weren't Worth's and words in his mind. The world was spinning and his stomach was churning and that didn't matter. For the moment all he could think of was the idea of Veser laughing and then rather abruptly being shot in the gut, or the way Toni would arc like a dancer even as she fell, or Conrad - _fuck_, Conrad - and, oh, he never should have sent the vampire anywhere and Worth knew that…

He knew that, and still there were Lamont's eyes, gazing up at him and seeming all the more damning in death. Your fault, Worth.

_I know_.

Why did you break our promise, you idiot? We promised we'd never do this shit and here we are now. This wasn't supposed to happen. You said you had a plan.

_I know._

You took everything from me, you asshole. You took everything from _him_. How can you justify this?

_I can't_.

Your fault, your fault, your fault -

**I know.**

He knew it was his fault; could never deny that. Worth knew he was the reason Hanna was here, knew he was the reason Lamont had been so damn terrified of Vitra tower, knew he'd taken the whole damn Worth family legacy down in one fell swoop and even that had been something. He knew he swore to give it all up and he fucking lied because he never let it go, not really. You don't cross Luce Worth, and Ellis should have known that. Worth saw an opportunity to get back at Ellis and he took it, knew he saw Hanna's light for a weapon long before he ever actually saw Hanna as a person.

He knew, and he knew even if he could go back and change it, he probably wouldn't. Because if it hadn't been for Ellis, it would have been Worth in his position with all that fame and fortune and he never would have given a shit about anything. But no, he did, and the thing he'd always cared about first of all had been that damn grudge. There was the guilt, certainly, but Luce Worth did not operate on guilt, so he'd hidden it away under everything else and ignored the way those damned relationships had grown like salt nudging at the edges of a wound.

_Your fault_.

Lamont's words were in his mind, and oh, it was true, Worth knew it was true. He knew with each dumbass rebel Hanna took on, he just saw another opportunity. He had used them as pawns in his own personal game, because Ellis was gonna be real fuckin' sorry by the end of it all. He could say everyone had made their own choices and he could shove responsibility on them and claim that he was just following Hanna's prerogative, but of course that wasn't going to cover it up. He used them as pawns in his little war game and in the end he couldn't deny that they'd been pawns.

Except they were more than pawns, and that was a problem because now he'd lost them all and it felt like a lot more than losing some gayass chess match.

"Help me, Worth."

_I can't, you idiot. I'm not superman like you, I'm just a man._

He was just a man, and suddenly Worth was aware that this was too much. This was too much and there was still the weight of the world on his shoulders, growing with each scream. It was growing heavier, becoming so much he felt he'd snap beneath it all. He wanted to talk, to make Hanna's cries stop, but oh of course he knew it'd be worse if he talked and he didn't know what to do anymore.

So he finally just let it go, because there was nothing else.

He could not save Hanna by caring, had lost the rest because he'd made the mistake of giving a shit. He'd lost it all because they'd mattered and all he had now was that familiar apathy, and if he had to choose between that and Hanna he'd have to take the former, because to save Hanna was to stop caring right now.

So Worth closed his eyes and slumped forward, let the weight of the world crush him to nothing and lock away everything else. Hanna was still crying and Ellis was still laughing and there were those sickening thuds but oh, it didn't matter. He told himself that it didn't matter, that they were nothing, letting that familiar blanket of apathy fall over him and lock it all out.

Hanna was crying and Ellis was laughing and Worth just tried to tell himself it didn't matter.

_Your fault_.

Oh, he knew.

* * *

Guarding the delivery entrance to Vitra tower was one of the worst details for any guard. But it was absolutely humiliating for an Ahimsa agent. So of course, the two on duty were a tad grumpy and would rather have been doing something else when the supply truck pulled to a stop in front of them. They shared a glance and then a sigh as they levered themselves off the wall they'd been leaning on and walked over to the truck.

"All right, what's going on?" One of the guards reached up and knocked on the driver's side door. "There were no orders coming in today." Another rap on the door. "Come on out of there and explain this."

The driver's side door opened, and a man in a delivery outfit stepped out, his hat pulled low over his head and a pair of dark sunglasses covering his eyes. He slammed the door shut behind him and squared his shoulders against the two guards, "Name's Frank," he said thickly. "What can I do for you?"

"What's with the sunglasses?" the second guard asked. "It's been cloudy all day, no sun at all."

"New fad," the driver answered, tapping the side of the sunglasses, "all over the holoscreens."

"We're not here to learn about fashion," the first guard snapped. "There weren't supposed to be any trucks coming in today. What are you doing here?"

"Mm, news musta not gotten around yet," The driver stuck his thumbs through his belt loops and drummed his fingers on his thigh. "Some doctor ordered a whole ton of stuff. Uh, Doctor Godwin Ellis or something."

"Ellis?" the first guard sounded a little surprised, if not worried, "You're sure? It was Doctor Godwin Ellis?"

"Yeah, pretty sure," the driver responded. "Said he wanted it ASAP."

"Shit," the second guard muttered. "We better get the stuff up there before he comes down here and fires us."

"Go ahead and open her up," the driver said with a grin. "She's all yours..."

The two guards stepped around the side of the truck and headed towards the back. The driver followed after them, humming to himself, and leaned against the side of the truck, watching through his dark glasses as the Ahimsa unlocked the back of the vehicle and pushed the rolling door open.

Chaos erupted out of the back of the truck. There was an explosion that knocked the Ahimsa back and a streak of blue erupted out of the back of the truck, followed by a series of wild shouts.

"Couldn't we have been quieter about this?" the former agent's voice echoed from the back of the truck as there was a final, somewhat worrying thud.

"Not a chance," Veser snorted, spinning his harpoon expertly in his hand. "Ples gets us a truck, we're gonna use it like they do in the movies. Ass-kicking awesome."

"Don't worry about it, Keanu," Hanna said, nudging aside an unconscious guard with his foot. "We'll just bust in, get Worth, and bust right back out again, no problem. And if anyone stands in our way..."

"Enough with the dramatic stuff," Lamont cut in, tossing aside the sunglasses and hat and pulling a gun from the inside of his jacket. "We need to get moving."

"Right." Toni leaped from the back of the truck, landing with ease on blue paws. "Well, let's get this going before someone sounds the alarm. Veser, could you do the honors?"

"With pleasure." The half-Selkie grinned, showing those terrifying teeth of his, and pulled a large, silver and glowing red sphere out of his pocket. He hefted it up, drew back an arm, and hurled it at the closed garage door.

The sphere struck the metal and let out an ear-splitting bang, shaking the ground with a heavy, trembling, thrum. Debris of metal and concrete shards splintered through the air, most of them bouncing harmlessly off the shield Hanna had generated, and thick, dark smoke poured from the broken doorway.

Hanna beamed, dropping his arms to his sides and let the energy vanish. "Knock, knock...anyone home?"


	25. Chapter 20

**CHAPTER TWENTY

* * *

**

Any relief that Conrad had felt at returning to the factory had been promptly squashed out by the emptiness of the basement.

After things had finally settled down and plans had been made to rescue Worth, the vampire had retreated to the basement. He wasn't sure if it was because he actually wanted to set things up or if it was because he really wanted to get away from everyone else. Whatever the reason, he was down there now, everyone else gone, left for the mission. The vampire listened silently to their crackling babble coming over the communicators, heard Hanna mutter something in an oddly subdued voice, and remembered the surprising event that had happened soon after their return to the factory.

He'd been in his room, throwing out the ruined shirt and pants he'd been wearing and searching for a clean set of clothes he could throw on, when there'd been a tentative knock on the door. Hanna had entered silently, standing just inside the doorway, his head hanging, unusually still. Conrad had been startled and just a little annoyed at being caught without a shirt on and it had showed in his voice when he'd asked the redhead what he wanted.

"I... I'm sorry." Hanna had kept his eyes on the floor, his voice soft.

"What?"

"I'm sorry," Hanna had repeated. "You got captured because I messed up the mission. You got hurt," The redhead's gaze had flickered up for a second to travel across Conrad's bandages before dropping again, "Because I was an idiot. And I'm sorry. You can hate me, if you want, I wouldn't blame you, but I just wanted you to know that I -"

"Shut up," Conrad had muttered, and he'd met Hanna's blue eyes with his own red ones. "I'm not mad at you, and I certainly don't blame you. I threw you into that air vent so you could escape with the information; it's not like you ran away and abandoned me or anything."

"But what happened to you - !"

"It doesn't matter. It's not your fault." Conrad had turned away, putting his back to Hanna. "If it makes you feel any better, I forgive you."

There had been a long, heavy silence, and when Hanna spoke again, his voice had had a smile in it: "Thanks, Connie. I'm glad you're back. And I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah," Conrad had mumbled as Hanna had vanished back out the door, shutting it behind him with a loud bang as he went. "Yeah..."

But was he okay?

He didn't think so.

Conrad was scared again; terrified, really.

But it wasn't himself; he was scared for because, even though the thought of Vitra Tower shook him to the core, he had completed the mission, had come back alive. And what was that old saying? What doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Well, Conrad couldn't deny that he certainly felt that surviving the Tower had made him stronger, in some way or another, but that did little to quell his fear.

Fear for everyone else, fear for his friends. Hanna, Toni, Veser, Eli, Lamont, they were all heading straight into the enemy's territory, straight into Vitra Tower. And the thought terrified Conrad because all he could remember of the place was pain; the cold sting of the serum that had captured him, the harsh light of that single room, the flash of fire from the holy water, the sickening burn of the silver in his system, and the horrible darkness from that substance that had blinded him.

That was all he could think of, and whenever he did think of it, cold shivers of fear sent him trembling; made his knees weak, and his fingers numb.

He hadn't wanted them to leave because he knew it could easily be them in a chair, subject to the whims of Ellis' sick experiments. It could easily be Veser cut open on one of those labs tables, still alive, dying slowly. It could easily be Toni who was lanced with silver and left to be eaten away by the poison. Ot could easily be Hanna who was torn limb from limb just to see what made him tick. And Conrad didn't think he could take that.

Not to mention his own fear. What if those Ahimsa men somehow tracked them back to the factory? What if they found him, all alone and vulnerable, trapped in this basement? The idea left a rock in his already knotted stomach, made him dizzy, made him terrified to close his eyes because if he did he might open them and find a gun pointed at his face.

He was frightened of being alone.

But to get Worth back, he had to be alone. Conrad saw the sense in it and it was a great plan but the nagging memories of what Vitra Tower represented haunted him, even as he pushed them aside. The vampire leaned forward in his seat in the basement, suddenly acutely aware of the lack of smoke and swearing and grime that usually kept house, and rested his arms on the edge of the crowded computer desk in front of him, brow furrowed, unconsciously rubbing the thin, metallic strip that circled his left wrist and disrupted the older computer monitors when he moved too close to them.

Branded, like cattle. Conrad didn't know when they'd done it but at some point during his capture, he'd been registered and marked. Dark lines scored the inside of his wrist like a barcode, the numbers underneath standing out starkly on his pale skin. He couldn't go anywhere now without the Council watching his every move. Even with the metal bracelet covering the mark, even with the magnet inside the band blocking the signal from transmitting, he felt dirty, infected, like every shadow hid a watching enemy waiting to pounce on him.

And it only added to the loneliness and fear that was clawing away at his insides.

* * *

It was almost sad, really.

There had been a tense moment after Veser had blown the door open, the poor workers standing there amongst the boxes looking utterly lost. The lighting panels along the ceiling flashed a brilliant red, an alarm ringing through the concrete room as metal gates snapped in place over the exits.

None of them had stood a chance, armed or not. The group had made short work of them, blasts of energy and bombs flying everywhere, bullets piercing flesh. Within minutes Veser was kicking the last guard aside with a bit too much enthusiasm, the shrill shriek of the alarm only seeming to spur the group onward.

"This is easy!" Hanna exclaimed, flexing his fingers, blue energy twirling around his bracers. "We make the most awesome group ever! Hey Connie, where do we go from here?"

_"Down,"_ came the reply over the communicators, _"to the... to the basement levels. He'll be down there somewhere."_

"Time to blow shit up!" Veser spun his harpoon through the air. "Come on, Hot Lips, you and me! Let's go bust some Undesirables out!"

"You got it." Toni's fangs were twisted into a terrible grin, her bright blue fur standing up on end as she made her way toward the glittering red 'exit' sign.

"Is this really the plan? The former agent wondered aloud as they rushed for the stairs. "Just blow things up until we find him?"

"Hell yeah!" Veser said. "Not only does it free all those Undesirables, it's seriously stickin' it to those Council bastards!"

"Come on, Polonius! Don't worry so much!" Hanna urged his partner, racing after Toni and Veser, "We know exactly what we're doing!"

"Only because it's the only thing you know how to do," Lamont said from behind them. "Just nobody get shot, okay?"

That had only gotten breathless, excited sort of laughter from both Hanna and Veser as they burst into the fire escape stairwell. The group rushed down the stairs, a cacophony of thudding boots and paws, punctuated by bursts of energy from Hanna when the redhead got a bit too enthused. Up above them, shouts and banging doors could be heard - evidentially, the guards and Ahimsa were on to them, but this only seemed to excite the group more as they descended.

It took a good seven floors before they were finally interrupted, as a grumbling scientist stumbled out of the fire escape door. "Goddamn fire alarms, why do they always have to test them?" The doctor scowled as he rubbed a hand over his face. "It's not like they -" Here he paused, brown eyes widening in horror as he caught the sight of a glowing boot aiming for his face.

He didn't say much else after that.

"I found the labs, guys!" Hanna shouted, skipping though the door and dancing on the threshold. "Come on, come on, pick up the pace!"

"Not all of us can move at light speed, Hanna," Lamont grumbled, brushing his hair back from his face.

"Move it." Veser shouldered past Hanna and froze. "Holy fuck..." The half-Selkie's eyes widened as he took in the sight of the tortured, starved, and ruined Undesirables.

Really though, the problem wasn't the Undesirables, most of whom were trapped their cells and in varying states of panic due to the whole alarm business. The scientists weren't really of concern either, all of whom had ceased their panicked rushing and spewing of papers when they caught sight of just _who_ was barging through their door.

The real problem was the Ahimsa bursting in from across the room, blurs of dark clothing and gazes as hard as the guns clasped in their gloved hands. The instant Hanna had burst into the room their weapons had come up, preparations made to shoot them down and end the chaos in an instant.

Unfortunately, Hanna was faster.

The redhead leapt forward, cerulean energy boiling out of his heels as he raced across the room, leaping over tables in a blur that was almost too fast to see. He slammed into the Ahimsa agent at the front of the group and knocked him to the floor before leaping off and spinning in mid air to kick aside two more of the Ahimsa. They both dropped to the floor like stones.

"Get the kid!" shouted one of the other agents, who leveled his gun at Hanna as the redhead turned to face him. Hanna grinned and ducked low to the floor, slamming his palm into the polished metal floor. A shock of intense magic and blue energy erupted around him, sending the Ahimsa sprawling. Then Hanna jumped to his feet, chasing down the ones who were still standing with bursts of light and energy, laughing and catcalling as he went.

"Hanna, save your energy!" Toni called after him as she leaped into the fray, going down on top of an unfortunate Ahimsa in a blur of blue fur and snarling teeth.

"She's right," the former agent spoke up as a shot rang through the air, eliciting a cry of pain from a guard who'd been leveling a shot at the redhead. "We have to keep moving, there's going to be more of them. Where's Veser?"

"Trying to free these Undesirables!" The half-Selkie shouted from where he was slamming his fists into the control panel. "Damn it! Forget this! Everyone get down, I'm blowing this thing sky high!" And he pulled one of his powerful, blinking spheres from his pocket, stepping back and aiming it at the blinking, teasing, control panel.

"Wait, what?" Toni sputtered. "VESER, DON'T - !"

Too late. The explosion tore through the lab, a ball of scorching flame that spread in an instant, catching at chemicals and causing smaller, brilliant colored flashes of light and energy. The Ahimsa and scientists caught in the blast let out shouts of agony, glass and metal shrapnel flying everywhere.

Finally, it was over. The room had been plunged into darkness, lit by the flaming remains of the control panels and the glittering, broken blue shards of what had once been holoscreens. The emergency lights flashed an awful, angry red every few seconds, illuminating groaning bodies and shadowy figures as they moved tentatively toward the broken glass that had once made up their prison. The lab was almost strangely quiet for a moment, save for a few groans, and then came the low growl from the corner.

Well, Veser's bombs had certainly worked. _Something_ was loose... and it wanted blood.

One of the Ahimsa agents had stumbled to his feet, clutching at a wound in his side. "Ugh," he groaned. "_Who_ gave the half-breed scum all these bombs? I just don't…" It was then that he froze, face paling as he took in the sight of something very large looming over the threshold of one of the cells, black fur standing on end and eyes glowing red. "….Shit."

That seemed to be the trigger. Suddenly, with a great and terrible roar the creature burst forth, what seemed to be about seven hundred pounds of fur, fangs and claws bearing down on the man. Around the room all sorts of things were rising to their feet and jumping into the fray. There was a fizzling noise and a blur of white bone as a vampire leaped at an unfortunate scientist, a swirling mass of shadows as a headless woman lashed out at a pair of guards with a newly materialized scythe. Flames and magic crackled in the air, the lab exploding into action again as if the entire room were a veritable powder keg.

From somewhere in the mass of flailing bodies, Veser was laughing, horribly laughing, and shouting loudly, "Hell yeah! Take that, you Ahimsa bastards!"

Hanna was howling with laughter too, a wicked sound that sounded far too happy with the situation. Neon blue light spilled from his fingers and he threw handfuls of it into the fray, striking Ahimsa agents with deadly accuracy.

"Hanna!" Lamont ducked an arcing lance of electricity, running up to the redhead and the ex-agent. "We gotta move! Veser was an idiot, but this was exactly what we needed! Eli, grab him and let's go!"

The former agent winced at these words, a hand coming up to clutch at the back of his head. While the others were laughing around him, there was something sharp and painful ringing in right ear, as if he'd been struck from behind with something. He'd probably been too close to the explosion, Veser was infamous for not paying attention to these things. However, the command had been ordered and he knew he had a job to do, so with a shake of his head he cast this pain aside and reached out to grab Hanna.

"Let's go," he said as he tugged Hanna along. His heart was thudding in ears that were still ringing from the explosion; but in spite of this, there was a fire dancing in his eyes, something excited and determined and dangerous igniting from within even with the pain in his head. The scene around them was grisly chaos, Hanna's laughter melding with Veser's was absolutely _terrifying_ and he swore he'd just seen Toni blow past in a blur of animalistic fury... but there was something contagious and fascinating about it all.

It was awful. But when he thought about the creatures exploding from cages and memories of those he'd sent _to_ those cages, it was impossible to deny the surge of sheer, mad _rightness_ about it all.

"Toni and Veser have things under control," he added, a slight smirk flashing across his face.

"If I have to..." Hanna dropped his hands almost reluctantly, the glow on his bracers dropping to their usual, low flicker as he cut off his energy. "Hold on a second, why're you coming? Lamont and I can find Worth. Shouldn't you stay and help out Toni and Veser?"

His partner shook his head. "I'm not leaving you again. Now let's go."'

The three of them dashed across the lab, dodging through the chaos, avoiding the fire, the bullets, the electricity, and the teeth and claws that were flashing through the air. The door across the room was beckoning but as soon as they reached it, an Ahimsa stepped across their path, leveling his weapon at them. Hanna skidded to a halt and brought his hands up, ready to charge his bracers, but Lamont got there first. He lunged past Hanna and grabbed the Ahimsa by the front of his coat, slamming him into the wall beside the door.

"Worth," the dealer snarled in a voice that sounded most un-Lamont-ish, "Where is Worth?"

"Wh-what? Who?" The agent had dropped his gun and was shrinking back from the dark look on the man's face who was pinning him down.

"Dr. Ellis' prisoner! Luce Worth!" Lamont snapped, shaking the Ahimsa agent so that the man's head banged against the wall. "Where is he!"

"T-two floors down!" the agent shouted, "Room 3A! Don't kill me! Please!"

Lamont threw the Ahimsa to the floor in disgust and kicked the door open, running into the stairwell beyond. Hanna stared wide-eyed at his partner and then took off after the dealer.

The former agent was left gaping for a moment, then shook his head as he followed after them, coat flaring out behind him. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised - the whole situation was strange - but there was something downright terrifying about the whole thing. Lamont's gaze had been frigid and determined, the eyes of a man with everything to gain and still so much to lose. It was something awful, something that took the ex-agent out of the chaos and grounded him to reality. The whole thing was exhilarating, yes, but contrary to those eyes, there was still so much to lose and he was sure they all knew that.

They all still knew that, and they were all getting sick of losing.

* * *

"Where is security! Where the hell is security! I'm totally unprotected here!" Ellis shouted, his face pale as he scrambled across the floor, trying to find something to hide under, "Oh dear God! I'm gonna die! Security! _Security_!"

"Doctor Ellis, _please_, I am trying to give orders!" Anya barked out before turning her attention back to flickering holoscreens before her, her face a blank mask as she tapped her communicator. "Lieutenant? Lieutenant?"

"I do not think he will be answering," Abner said grimly as he stepped past the captain, shotgun in hand. "They've overtaken the labs entirely. They need backup, Captain."

The brunette shook her head as she reached across the council, tapping a few buttons. "Attention all security!" She called out over her communicator. "We have a breach in the labs! All personnel are expected to evacuate immediately, all security is to report to the labs for backup!"

"Report to Doctor Ellis!" came the screech from underneath a wheely-chair. "Anya, what're you doing, send them all up here? We need security! "

Anya's eyes widened and she nearly lost her grip on the communicator. "Wh- no, no, back to the labs!" She snapped before dropping her gaze to glare down at Ellis. "Sir, my troops are needed _down there_, not up here with you!"

"No! No, we need them up here!" Ellis fidgeted underneath the chair, gripping the legs of the chair in a panic. "They have to protect me! The rebels are after _me_! Me, you hear me! I need protection!"

The Ahimsa captain shook her head. "No, you don't! _They_ need protection!" She snapped, stabbing an angry finger at the chaos on the screens.

"Captain, I'm going to help," Abner spoke up, ignoring the cowering man on the floor as he strode toward the door.

"No! You can't!" Ellis, moving surprisingly fast for a coward, leapt in front of the door, spreading his arms in front of it as though this would stop the vampire hunter from leaving, "You have to stay here! You have to protect me!"

"…Doctor, your subordinates are dying," the vampire hunter spoke. "Our orders were to protect them."'

"B-but... but..." Ellis glanced around the room frantically and then his face lit up. "My files! My files are in here! See! See!" He dashed across the room again and grabbed the black, metallic looking briefcase sitting on the console, holding it up to show the other two, "_These_ are important! And there's more files in the computer! We can't leave them! They're part of the Firefly Project and they're _very important_!"

There was a moment of tense silence as cold blue met frantic brown, Anya's jaw locked in a solid, tense line. Her fists clenched at her sides, shaking slightly, as if the captain was fighting to not simply punch her boss in the face. "…But sir," she finally managed to grind out. "What about the prisoner? Isn't _he_ vital to your project?"

Ellis stared at her for a long moment, clutching his briefcase to his chest, and then shook his head, snorting discontentedly, "Leave him, he's not... important."

Anya watched him for another moment. Finally, she shook her head and stalked toward the door without a word.

"Captain -" Abner began, only to be cut off.

"Hunter VanSlyk, you will remain here to guard Doctor Godwin Ellis and his files," the brunette said coolly. "I need to get to the labs."

"Nope!" Ellis threw himself in front of the door again, still clutching the briefcase, "We're getting out of here!"

Again those eyes met his, unflinching even as another explosion made the room shudder. "Doctor Ellis," the Ahimsa Captain murmured. "Didn't you just tell me we couldn't leave this room due to the the information stored on the computers?"

Ellis shrugged, shifting from foot to foot, "Nah, those are just my Minecraft files. Not important. Let's go!" And he motioned for the door, urging them to follow. "Orders, Captain, orders! We're _leaving_."

The brunette grit her teeth for another moment, then let out a frustrated growl before jerking her head toward the door. "Take the area ahead," she murmured to Abner. Those blue goggles met her eyes for a moment and she shook her head. "The Council's orders hold priority… though how long that will remain the case remains to be seen."

The vampire hunter gazed at her, then nodded and stepped past her and Ellis, somehow able to express his distaste with each heavy, booted step. He paused at the door, however, shoulders squared. "Miss Borokov… I believe the Council is growing tired of chess games."

"I know," Anya murmured in reply, her eyes not leaving Ellis'.

She received a nod in reply before the vampire hunter was gone. The instant he had left the room, a gloved hand suddenly shot out to grab Ellis, abruptly pulling the scientist mere inches from her face.

"Your orders are orders, _sir_," The Ahimsa Captain hissed out, her eyes alight with blue fire. "But keep this in mind: the lives that are lost today are _your_ responsibility."

Ellis gulped and tugged hesitantly at Anya's grip, "I...I ..." A split second of silence, and then the doctor blinked and that obnoxious look was back on his face, diluted somewhat by fear, "I would very much appreciate it if you let go of my shirt, Captain, so we can get the hell out of here."

She held him there for another moment, then finally let out a low growl and shoved the doctor through the door. "Move," she growled out as she stomped after him.

The three of them rushed down the hallway as the tower gave another shudder. A scream could be heard from her communicator and the captain grit her teeth as she forced herself to keep her eyes on Ellis' retreating back.

It was for Varuna. That was all that mattered in the end.

* * *

He wasn't sure how long it had been anymore.

Worth could not remember how long it had been, because, after a while, time had stopped meaning anything. He was pretty sure Hanna's screams had stopped, could remember something of Ellis telling them to drag the kid and Lamont's body away before leaving himself, but that was a hazy thing. It was as vague as the whispers of a drug in his mind, murmurs of whether or not the serum had worn off yet that faded into the depths before Worth could make any sense of them. It was an off memory and the blond could not be sure if that or the images in his mind were reality anymore, if those cries and those bright blue eyes were present or something he was imagining.

How long had it been? Had they taken Hanna away to figure it all out themselves? Ellis wasn't that smart, but it really didn't take a genius to work this stuff out and Worth wasn't kidding himself about that anymore. Eventually they would probably figure it out and then the ache in his bones would be for nothing- except it wasn't for nothing because there were those words, damning and awful and true.

_"Do you just want to die, Worth? Is that your Goddamn problem?"_

No, 'Mont, the problem was never that. The problem was Worth had never known to quit while he was ahead and all the fistfights and broken bones in the world weren't going to somehow beat _that_ out of him.

Still, those words were in his head, stuck on repeat like the memories in his brain and by this point Worth wasn't sure if he'd been present for all their deaths or not. He wasn't sure if he'd been there but he may as well have been, and now these were mixing with other memories and Worth was not one for mourning but they _wouldn't get out of his fucking head_.

Veser had been too young. Veser had been young and reckless and fucking stupid at seventeen when Hanna had forcibly dragged him in, and Worth had told him that. Too young, dumbass, I'm not fucking babysitting _two_ of you, but then there had been that mission and Veser went and took down a building and well - fuck, Worth supposed that was useful enough. He'd been something explosive and strangely admirable, but fuck was he reckless, and damnit kid I've told you a million times not to do that because what the fuck am I supposed to do if you blow yourself up under my watch, huh?

Toni was, as they all knew, way too damn pretty to spend her time in the underbelly of the city. She was beautiful, talented, and the thing that had always stuck out for him was the memory of that morning when he'd been awake long before anyone else. He'd been sitting on the roof with his usual cigarette, and then out of nowhere came that piano and her voice - angelic and perfect - and oh Worth had never said anything, but she'd been far too good for the rest of them.

Conrad had surprised him, and Worth had been glad for that. He'd started out as something pathetic and far too easy to bully; but give him the right push and the vampire did so much better than either of them thought he would. Conrad had grown and changed since he'd first shown up and Worth would never admit it but he was so damn proud and fuck Connie I swear you were ready, you were stronger than you thought. You were stronger than you thought and you can blame me if you want but damnit that's not fair, you were better than that, I was fucking _right_.

As for Hanna's friend, Worth could not say he was surprised to learn that he'd gone down protecting Hanna. The bastard knew nothing, yet he'd thrown away his life for it anyway and in a way that was both admirable and stupid. The former agent was an absolute idiot with a streak of heroism a bit too similar to Hanna's for his own good, and that was stupid, but Worth had been glad for the guy anyway because he couldn't keep watching Hanna forever.

But of course, that hadn't mattered in the end, now had it? Hanna was there and Worth and Lamont had been fighting for so damn long to keep that from happening. They'd fought to change things and fix Worth's stupid mess and grown protective of the stupid redhead who seemed to change the world just by existing and now the whole damn thing had crumbled and Worth wasn't sure what to do. They'd all died for this stupid kid and, fuck, Worth couldn't blame them because that kid was everything, but in the end, everything hadn't mattered and, fuck, Lamont had been right.

_It wouldn't be the first time._

"I know that, asshole," Worth found himself muttering through cracked lips. He was speaking to a dead man and that was stupid, but that seemed to be all he had now besides the damn memories. This was all he had now and it shouldn't have mattered, but it did and damn it all…

An explosive bang cut off his thoughts and also sent the door slamming open, two of its hinges shattered, the third just barely hanging on.

"Worth!" Blue light spilled into the room and there, framed in the doorway, was Hanna Cross. His blue eyes were wide and worried, his thin frame tense, energy sparking from his bracers as he stared wide-eyed at the doctor. "Oh hell... Worth! Worth, are you okay! Talk to me! Worth!"

The redhead dashed into the room, followed shortly after by the former Ahimsa agent and a very stressed looking Lamont.

"Worth!" Lamont skidded to a stop beside Hanna, almost slipping a semi-dried pool of a blood, "Aw, shit... Worth, you all right?"

The blond blinked up at them through his one good eye, expression one of bleary confusion as his gaze flicked from Hanna's worried, undamaged face to the equally worried dark gaze of the still living former agent. Then came Lamont and oh fuck this couldn't be right because Lamont looked like he hadn't slept in days and more worried than the doctor had ever seen him in his life and this did not compute with the body burned into the back of his eyelids.

"…Christ, musta lost a lot of blood," Worth finally groaned as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Now I'm seeing things. Stop fucking with me already, 'm not tellin' you _shit_…"

"Worth, what're you talking about?" Lamont reached out to touch his friend, and then stopped, because there wasn't a place where there wasn't an injury. "Look at me."

"Worth...?" Hanna crouched down, peering at the doctor with worry etched clearly across his face, "What's wrong? Why're you acting so weird...?"

The blond gave a shake of his head, though it was a bare, nearly imperceptible thing. "You're not here. They're not here. Fuck off, Ellis, it ain't gonna work…" He trailed off again, shoulders hunching upward as if he were trying to ward them both off.

"E-Ellis? He's here?" Hanna looked up sharply, turning every which way before relaxing and facing Worth again, "Worth, Ellis isn't here. It's just us. Worth?"

"Damn it, what's wrong with you!" Lamont growled, "Look at us, Luce! We're right here! Luce!" Then, ignoring the blood and numerous injuries covering Worth's frame, Lamont gabbed the doctor's shoulders and shook him. "Luce, whatever they did to you, you're better than them! You're better than them! So look at me, you goddamn pansy!"

The doctor jerked in his seat, as if the touch were like an electric shock. Worth blinked blearily up at his living, breathing, decidedly _real_ best friend."…'Mont?" His breath hitched in his throat, coming out in a gasp like a drowning man coming up for air. "What're you…. you're supposed to be _dead_."

"Really?" Lamont raised an eyebrow at this, still holding onto Worth's shoulders. "Last I checked my heart was still beating."

"Worth, you're aaallliiiivvvvvee!" Hanna suddenly appeared from underneath Lamont's arms and threw himself into Worth's lap, trying to hug the doctor and really just managing to hug the chair, "Oh God, I was so worried about you! I'm so happy you're okay and you're not dead and you're _alive_!"

"_Augh_!" Worth let out a shout of surprise and pain as he abruptly found himself with a lap full of excited, gleeful, and quite un-injured Hanna. "What the fuck! Goddamnit kid, _get off of me_!" the blond exclaimed as he thrashed in his chair, his actions making it seem like Hanna's hug was the worst torture he'd experienced in the past few days.

"Well," the former agent spoke up as he came up behind Hanna and Lamont. "That was surprisingly normal." There was a smile in his voice, as if Hanna's excitement had lifted a weight from his shoulder.

The blond scowled as he continued to try to shove Hanna aside. "Goddamnit, kid - get off!" He growled before peering over bright red curls at Lamont. "Where's everyone else?"

"Waiting for us!" Hanna said happily, still trying to cling to the remains of Worth's shirt, "For you! We're fighting to free you Worth! Just like in all the old movies!"

For an instant, there was a shadow of relief that seemed to cross Worth's face, a subtle relaxing of limbs. But then he was shaking his head and snorting even as he continued to try to shove Hanna away. "Dumbasses."

Hanna let out a laugh, genuine happiness playing across his face as he slid to the floor, ignoring the blood and dirt that had collected there over the past couple of days, "He's okay! He's alive! Everything's going to be all right!"

"Yeah, yeah." Lamont stepped back, shaking his head and smiling. "Now come on and help me bust our favorite asshole out of here."

"Nngh," Worth let out a grunt as he blinked at them for a moment, as if he were still putting things together. "Thought I told ya not t' save me?"

"Too bad!" Hanna cried and charged energy into his bracers, "Now hold reeeeeal still, Worth, this might sting a bit." The blue light flared, sparks flew, and there was a loud crack.

"Come on, on your feet." Lamont hefted Worth off the chair, steadying him as the doctor swayed on his feet. "All right, we're getting out of here before the Ahimsa catch up to us. Let's go."

The blond gave a low growl as he leaned against the dealer, trying and failing completely at standing upright. "Don't fuckin' need you, I can walk…" He grumbled, though this seemed to be more of a farce than anything.

Beside them, Hanna's partner suddenly blinked and tapped his communicator. "Hm? Yes Conrad, we found him. He's fine."

At these words Worth suddenly looked up from his failed struggle with his legs, brow furrowing. "Hey," he called out, extending his unbroken hand. "Gimme that communicator." Upon receiving a confused stare, the doctor gave another growl and jerked his hand. "Did I _stutter_, dumbass?" Those words drew a quirk of a brow from the ex-agent, but the communicator was still forked over without another complaint.

_"- out of there!"_ Conrad was shouting nervously, his voice shaking over the crackle of the communicators, _"Now. Toni's been hit and she says it's fine but that might mean it's not, and Veser's running out of bombs. You need to get out now!"_

"Hey, Connie," Worth suddenly cut in.

_"Huh?"_ The vampire on the other end of the line sounded genuinely startled.

"You all right?"

_"...What?"_

Worth gave a snort. "Y'know what I mean. Ellis didn't fuck ya up too bad, did he?"

_"I... what... no. I... I'm okay. I'm fine, I think. Yeah."_ Conrad seemed to be having trouble speaking, still startled by Worth's initial question.

"M'kay," the doctor murmured as he reached to take the communicator away. He then paused, brow furrowing. "N' for the record, you're a fag." This task done, he thrust the piece of technology back into the ex-agent's hands, ignoring the snapped reply easily enough.

"Hm?" The former agent hummed as he took the communicator back, seeming rather calm as the four of them made their way for the door. "Yes, I'm sure we got the right one."

"Though he looks a little weird without his coat," Hanna pointed out, sticking close to Worth and Lamont.

This seemed to remind the doctor a bit of the situation, as he tensed slightly against his dealer crutch. "Fuck," he muttered as they paused in what was left of the doorway.

Up ahead, the former agent was nodding as he glanced down the hallway. "Conrad says we need to head back to the stairwell, he's having Veser and Toni move everyone that way. Apparently Veser still has a bomb left and he intends to use it to get back into the tunnels."

"All right," Lamont nodded and turned towards the ex-Ahimsa agent. "Geez, Worth, I know you weigh next to nothing but could you at least try to move your legs?"

The blond shook his head, then weakly jerked it in the opposite direction. "M' coat," he grunted. "Bastard still has my fucking coat."

"No," Lamont said firmly, almost like a mother reprimanding a child, "we're getting out of here. We can't risk getting caught!"

This drew a low growl from the doctor. "Fuck that, 's _my coat_," he said as he jammed an elbow into the dealer's ribs. "Turn this thing around!"

Hanna's partner shook his head. "No time. Now let's go."

And so with a jerk in the right direction and a laugh from Hanna that was almost manic in it's sheer _relief_ the four were off, rushing through shuddering hallways and banging through doorways, ignoring Worth's howled curses as they stumbled into walls and _God-fucking-damnit_ if you're gonna stage a rescue, do it fucking properly! But still they ran and oh there were Ahimsa but of course they were no match for the former agent's shots, so there was very little resistance between the group and the stairwell.

The stairwell in question was absolute chaos, a terrible mess of flapping wings and snarling jaws, flickering energy and cries of pain as the battle continued. The former agent very nearly had his head taken off by a blur of white that might have been a vampire, a stray gunshot whizzing over Hanna's head in a flash of energy. It was just as this happened that Toni suddenly went speeding by, a blur of blue that slowed only to look at them and let out a gasp.

"Worth!" she gasped as a blue claw shot out to send some poor agent toppling down the stairs.

"'Ey, Furfag," Worth grunted from two flights up.

"What _happened_!" the werewolf sputtered.

She received a shrug in response. "Fell down some stairs. Shit happens."

"Must have been the stairs from Hell," came Veser's voice, and suddenly those large green eyes and mouthful of sharp teeth were in front of them, the half-Selkie spinning his harpoon and knocking aside an agent who had gotten too close. "Geez, I thought old people were supposed to sit around and watch soap operas and stuff! Not go on adventures and get torn to pieces by gay scientists!"

The blond rolled his eyes. "Christ, I'm _fine_, you bunch of fucking _pussies_. Focus on getting out of here already, I didn't leave my Goddamn coat so we could die on this fucking stairwell!"

"I think he's ten times crankier without his coat..." Hanna mumbled, pulling back a fist and punching an Ahimsa out of the way.

"All right, all right," Veser held up his hands defensively. "Sheesh, you don't have to bite my head off, I'm getting there." The teen dug into his pockets, rifled for a bit, and drew out a silver sphere that was glowing a soft, pleasant orange. He grinned, "Strongest one I got. One of these babies blew a hole in the side of the Food Regulation building, 'member that?"

"Reminisce later," Lamont snapped, "get out now!"

Veser rolled his eyes, "God, you guys are whiny." He held up the bomb. "Stand back, this is gonna be nasty!" He thumbed the bomb and the soft orange became a blinding, deadly yellow. Then, with a wordless shout, he threw it at the wall.

This explosion made the previous explosions look like fire crackers. With a terrible burst of brilliant light and a shriek of tearing metal, the wall was simply _gone_, along with most of the air vents beyond it. The horrifying black singes left behind extended into what was left of the tunnel entrance Hanna had used days earlier, the cobwebs and hidden panels burned away.

One of the Ahimsa agents let out a shout of surprise as he beheld this sight. "What the… what is _that_ doing there!" he sputtered. He then let out a cry as the paranormal creatures began charging past him, making a beeline for the exit. "Wait, stop! By order of the Council you are to -"

He was cut off by a glowing boot slamming into him, followed by a laugh from Hanna. His laughter mixed with Veser's excited cries as the group followed the throng of creatures toward the exit, Toni's howl only adding to the chaotic din. Somewhere in the background, the former agent and Lamont began laughing as well, because it was just so _ridiculous_.

They weren't out of the woods yet, and the group all knew that. The tunnels had been shaky at best as of late, and there were certainly more Ahimsa in the Inner Circle to come after them. Still, they were fleeing from the dragon's maw _together_, and Hanna was laughing and smiling for real. There were no guarantees, of course, but this was how they had always been and there was something exhilarating and perfect about that.

Besides, Worth had managed to flip off a security camera on the way out - and somehow that made it seem that things would be all right.


End file.
